James Small was very excited at the thought of Harry Viljoen coaching South Africa. So excited that he even bought himself a ticket for a Test match. "It's the first time in ages I've wanted to go to a Test," said the former Springbok wing.

Small is well placed to talk about Springbok coaches. His 47 caps were earned under six different men: John Williams (who lasted five games), Ian McIntosh (12), Kitch Christie (14), Andre Markgraaff (13), Carel du Plessis (8) and Nick Mallett (38). Small never did play for Gerrie Sonnekus, but then nor did anyone else. Sonnekus got mixed up in a money mess and never took up his position.

Herman John Viljoen (41) is the eighth Springbok coach in nine years. Small first played for him 10 years ago, when the former Transvaal scrumhalf had taken over as coach of the province's second team. "I had just been dropped from the A side," Small recalls.

"Harry made us feel as important as anyone else in South African rugby. If you spend 10 minutes with Harry you feel like you can conquer the world."

Viljoen took Small and some other promising B-team players - Francois Pienaar and the eventual Springboks Pieter Hendricks and Ian MacDonald - with him when he took charge of the first team. Transvaal were Currie Cup runnersup that year, despite Small's 23 tries. The two men would finish second in the national championship again when they both made the move south to Natal. After that Viljoen took a longish break from the game but returned to coach Western Province - and 24-try Small - to a Currie Cup triumph in 1997.

Viljoen clearly inspired Small - he finished in the top three try scorers in the Currie Cup each time they were together. And Small believes the coach will get just as much out of the Springboks.

"I don't think Harry will make the same mistakes as Nick Mallett," he says. "Nick started a rot by dropping Gary Teichmann, the most successful captain we have ever had. That broke down confidence and yet he was asking players to play a confidence game.

"As a motivator Harry is a one-to-one guy, always willing to take time to get to know players. And he knows how to create a happy competitive environment. We used to get fined for kicking the ball, but we also got bonuses for making a certain number of tackles. He creates a fun environment in which to play rugby."

When Viljoen took on the job at the start of October he read a statement at his first press conference: "Please allow me to savour the moment." The country's leading Afrikaans daily gave him less than 24 hours before coming up with this headline: "Questions around Viljoen deepen concern over how long the new Springbok coach will stay." When Breyton Paulse was rested for the game against Ireland after playing 31 games in a row, the same paper led across its front page: "Is he crazy?"

That kind of criticism is just one part of a sport that one writer has described as "a filthy nest of intrigue, in-fighting, politics and back-stabbing". Some of the conflict stems from provincial rivalries - McIntosh picked too many Natal players, Christie was accused of favouring Transvaalers and when Mallett picked 10 Western Province players to face England this year that gave his enemies another stick to beat him with. At least Viljoen, who has been off the coaching circuit for a while, will not have that to deal with.

Viljoen signalled his intention to make the Springboks run by making Percy Montgomery his first-choice outhalf but said he was not simply calling for an expansive game. With defences constantly improving, he also cited the need for patience and improved technique.

Viljoen's Springboks have so far managed to scale the walls - a narrow win over Argentina was followed by flattering 10-point triumphs over Ireland and Wales. Three wins out of three, but the rugby establishment was already plotting against Mallett when his record read 16-1. Already there are grumbles about lack of coherent forward play and leaky defence.

Small believes Viljoen will ignore the chattering but listen to advice. "Harry is single-minded, but he does listen to everybody," he says. "He wants players to think and he wants to know what they think.

"Harry has always stayed in touch with the top coaches like Rod Macqueen. If there is knowledge out there Harry will go out and find it. He will never let his ego get the better of him."

If there are lessons dished out at Twickenham on Saturday Viljoen will probably learn from them. Chances are most of his compatriots will not.