Meyer is 'here to serve'
Meyer's future in the job is uncertain after the Boks finished the World Cup in third place, with the SARU general council set to meet in early December to make a decision on the position.
The coach has come in for some heavy criticism this year following a winless Rugby Championship campaign and first-ever defeats to Argentina and Japan with many supporters unhappy with the lack of attacking creativity the team showed in the knock-out phase of the World Cup.
Despite all the negativity, Meyer said on his return to the country at O.R Tambo International airport that he believes that he can still make a difference for the Springboks.
“I’m there to serve. I know what it takes to win, I know what it takes to be the best in the world, but you have to get the systems in place," he said.
Meyer said that he was grateful for the support the team has had over a tough World Cup campaign, and explained that although disappointed with the outcome he has no regrets as they could not have tried harder and were simply beaten by a better team in the semifinal defeat to the All Blacks.
"It is great to be back in the country, I want to thank all the people that stood behind us, it was amazing all of the support we had.
"We gave everything out there, there was two points in it at the end and the guys put their bodies on the line and really played for their country.
"In the end the best team won, so we don't have any excuses, no regrets, we couldn't have gone harder, we gave everything we could.
"It was great to see the reaction of the people when we came back, not just in South Africa but in London as well," he said.
He explained that he will be submitting a full report to SARU, and expressed confidence that the correct decision would be made in the best interests of South African rugby.
“I’ve got a lot of confidence in SA Rugby as well. They know what they’re doing and they are on the right track. I really think things will be better next year, especially for the national side.
“I’ll write a full report, but for me it’s just about being involved and making a difference in people’s lives, and like I said I want to be part of the solution,” he said.
Meyer added that he is determined to stay in South Africa instead of heading overseas, but said that he would not protest if the job was given to someone else.
“I want to be part of the solution. I love my country, I want to coach South Africa. I'm very proud of the boys, especially the youngsters for the way they came through.
“I’m excited about this team. I’m loyal to South Africa and I want to stay in South Africa. More and more of our people leave South Africa and they go and coach in other countries and they get quite good salaries for that as well.
“But I’ve said from day one that I want to keep my head high if I’m finished. I want to keep my integrity intact and I’m here to serve. I really want to make a difference in our country,” said Meyer.
The Bok coach said that the next task will be to reflect on the campaign and where it went wrong, adding that it will be 'back to work as usual' soon enough.
"You always reflect, you have to learn from what went wrong and look at everything, probably take a day or two off.
"There is still the review process and I am busy with a report, so there is still a lot of work that needs to be done behind the scenes, so it is a week or two off and then back to work as usual. The main thing is to reflect and see where we can go better," he explained.
Meyer has received the public backing of SARU president Oregan Hoskins.
"Heyneke is the most professional coach I have worked with," said Hoskins.
"We cannot rebuild the team every four years and lose so much intellectual property. In retrospect, maybe we should have stuck with coaches in the past. I do not want to keep repeating the cycle."
