Short of wrestling with the local wildlife, there is not much more that a South African could do to put himself in a place of danger than take on the post of head coach of the country's national rugby team.

European coaches might moan about the criticism that comes their way, but they live charmed lives compared to the fellow who carries the can marked "national self esteem" when he takes on the job of looking after the Springboks.

So it is probably just as well that Heyneke Meyer combines the skin of a rhinoceros with the adroit interpersonal skills needed to survive in the office. In 2008, Meyer dealt with the snub of being overlooked in favour of the entertainingly bonkers Peter De Villiers, but since his belated appointment last year he has been showing the world just why he should have been given the role much earlier.

In his 13 matches in charge so far, Meyer has suffered just two defeats – and both of those were against the All Blacks. More than that, though, he has created a friendlier, more humble and more positive atmosphere within the Springboks squad than any of his predecessors – and there have been many in the 20-odd years since the country's readmission to international sport – ever managed to do.

"Because of our past there was a lot of provincialism," said Meyer after naming his side to face Scotland in their Castle Lager Test series match in Nelspruit on Saturday. "Because we didn't compete internationally the Currie Cup was very big, and there was a lot of professionalism in the provinces.

"Now, I try to take the pressure off and to focus just on each Test match on its own. This tournament is good for us to experiment a little, but the expectation is always there.

"In 1999 I was assistant coach of the Boks and we were getting back into international rugby, and the guys were sitting at different tables because they'd never played together for their country, they had only played against each other."

Meyer was born in Nelspruit, and there is no disguising his pride at seeing his home town make its debut as a Test rugby venue. Until recently, the provincial town – now fast-growing towards city status – did not have a ground worthy of that status, but the construction of the 45,000 capacity Mbombela Stadium for the 2010 football World Cup has changed all that.

"As a youngster there was always a lot of rugby here, but never a Test match," said Meyer. "When a university team came down it was big game for us. I always believed that I would come back with the team one day so with the stadium being built it is great to come back and be able to play here.

"I am trying to take the emotion out of it this week, but it's difficult because I was born here and grew up here. I grew up with the ambition to be the Springbok coach one day, and if I was to come back and play here. It's like a dream come true for me."

On paper, the Springboks should beat the injury-ravaged Scots at a canter, but it is a point of principle for Meyer to respect all opponents equally. In any case, he feels that the gap between the best and the rest at the elite level of Test rugby has closed dramatically in the past few years.

"You need to be clinical and take emotion out of international sport, and focus instead on what you need to do," he said. "There is a lot of pressure in South Africa because everyone here believes that you should smash every team that you play, but I totally believe that the gap between the countries in the top 10 is not big any more."

Meyer has a genuine affection for Scotland, the seeds of it planted on a couple of tours he made in the mid-1990s. On one of them, he forged a solid friendship with Richie Gray – the former Gala captain, not the current British and Irish Lion – and often discusses forward play with his old mate.

Gray has become something of a breakdown guru in recent years. The Collision King machine he invented is used by a number of sides in South Africa, which makes it all the stranger that Scotland have not called on his services.

"I'm afraid the Scottish guys will hang him when they get back," said Meyer with a Smile. "But he has pointed out a lot of things to us. He's so proudly Scottish he will not talk about Scotland, but he helps us when it comes to playing Australia and other teams."

It was often said of De Villiers that his verbal bloopers stemmed from the fact that, as an Afrikaans speaker, he struggled to express himself in English. Meyer, a graduate in sports psychology, is fluent and articulate in both. But as far as he is concerned, rugby is an international language anyway.

And he is also a voracious learner. "All teams are learning from each other now," he said. "You look at England, France and New Zealand and they have a lot of foreign coaches in. We don't have a lot in SA, so in my off-season I decided I wanted to go around the world and speak to a lot of coaches and see where we could improve."

Meyer speaks in the voice of a worldly man and in the voice of a new South Africa.