Peter de Villiers has revealed that he has a strong desire to coach the Springboks again and will apply for the position of Bok coach when his current contract runs out at the end of the year.

There was some confusion over De Villiers' future intentions following South Africa's exit from the World Cup thanks to a misunderstanding between the coach and the media (not uncommon during his four year tenure) but the controversial Bok boss has since clarified the situation.

In the post-match press conference which followed the Springboks' narrow loss to the Wallabies in Wellington De Villiers told the media that it was "the end of the road" for him, but he seemed to backtrack on that when he arrived back in South Africa, claiming that he had not resigned.

Apparently what De Villiers had meant to acknowledge was that the World Cup quarterfinal loss was the last of his contracted period at the helm of the national team, rather than announcing his complete resignation.

He told Supersport: "When I signed in 2008 I signed until the end of 2011, I always knew that, so it had to be the end of the road for me in terms of what I was contracted to do.

"To me there was no confusion, and I don't see myself as fighting with anybody – I was contracted for four years, and the four years is now over. I always knew that would be the case. My attitude has always been that no-one has the right to be Bok coach, that it is a caretaker position.

"There were no more games for the Boks this year after the quarterfinal, so as far as the public were concerned, the World Cup quarterfinal was the end of my stint as Bok coach. That is what I was trying to say," he explained.

However, the Springboks' heartbreaking exit from the World Cup has left the charismatic mentor with a feeling that he would like to put things right and as a result he will be applying for the position once more.

He said: "Not winning the World Cup makes me feel like there is unfinished business, that the story isn't finished. So if they call for applications for the Springbok job I will definitely apply for it. Why not? I have enjoyed doing the job and it was a privilege for me to serve my country.

"If I apply and my application is not accepted that is fine, I will accept what is good for South African rugby and move on. The next coach will have my full support," he added.

De Villiers admitted that his time at the helm of the national team was not all peaches and cream, but added that after four years in the hot seat he now has enough experience to deliver the necessary results.

He commented: I made a lot of mistakes along the way, but you learn from those mistakes, and I believe that I have learned sufficiently that if I was to get a chance to do it again, I wouldn't make those same mistakes again.

"When you first take the job there is so much that is new, there is so much you have to get used to in terms of international rugby and the Springbok culture. I believe I have something to offer, but that would be up to SARU to decide. I am just saying I am available and will apply for the job if applications are asked for," he confirmed.

This leaves De Villiers as one of the few people who has actually admitted interest in the position, with most of South Africa's franchise coaches claiming that they will not apply.