Taking charge
26 Oct 2010
Jean de Villiers believes that an increase in responsibility on the Springboks’ end-of-year tour will bring out the best in him.
Given that a number of youngsters will tour with the Boks this November, the onus will fall on veterans like De Villiers to extract the best from them. His experience of playing in northern hemisphere conditions will be a boon, as will his knowledge of the local talent.
Speaking to SA Rugby magazine, WP backs coach Robbie Fleck says the experience of playing for Munster and living in Ireland has allowed De Villiers to evolve.
‘I’ve noticed the difference in his maturity as a player and as a person,’ says Fleck. ‘This happens when South Africans go overseas and experience a different culture and environment. They change. The way they train and interact with the coaches over there is very different.’
Also in the new issue:
– Peter de Villiers is under tremendous pressure to revive the battered Bok brand
– Chiliboy Ralepelle has been manipulated to suit various agendas and appease politicians
– SA Rugby magazine investigates the lack of black forwards at the highest levels and whether black forwards are genetically smaller than their white counterparts
– All you need to know about the four home unions ahead of the Boks’ end-of-year tour
– Former Free State flank Hendré Fourie toured with England earlier this year. Now he wants to prove a point against the Boks.
– Scotland have become a competitive unit under English coach Andy Robinson
– Ireland No 8 Jamie Heaslip wants to attract attention for all the right reasons
– Gert Smal on Ireland’s return to Lansdowne Road, taking on the Bok lineout again, and the new law interpretations
– Wales had a disappointing tour to New Zealand this year, but scrumhalf Mike Phillips believes they can still be World Cup contenders
– Duane Vermeulen lets his rugby do the talking
– Elton Jantjies‘ rugby career has been shaped by his father
– Peter Grant on learning Japanese, eating whale and toppling the Bulls
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71 Comments
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25 Oct 2010, 16:02 pm
48. STORMERSBOY(STORMERSBOY):
There is many a story about PJ’s name origination but think about it – Mother Love Bone —> PJ, can only make sense whether you are a CT Fudgepacker or not…
25 Oct 2010, 16:04 pm
hey what happened to the ‘reply arrows’?
so the Xhosas that stood up to Shaka aren’t toughbastards?
25 Oct 2010, 16:05 pm
@Kobus Kitty(Kobus Kitty)-29: @Transformation(Transformation)-31:
I does make a lot of sense though. I don’t want to generalize but it looks like the guys from West Africa are significantly bigger than their Southern African counterparts.
Look at all the African American basketball and gridiron players. These guys are huge, some of them over 2,20 m tall! A lot of them are descendants of slaves from North-West Africa.
If you compare the Bafana Bafana players to those of the Ivory Coast and Ghana there is quite a significant difference in size.
Last year Bafana played agains Angola (a South West African country!), and it looked like boys agains men.
25 Oct 2010, 16:10 pm
49. TRANSFORMATION(TRANSFORMATION): Stood up to. lol. WTF is “stood up to”…
…and then you have the Moles of iSandhlewana and tacit acknowledgement from the British Empire that the Zulu’s were one of their most fearsome adversaries in history by virtue of them awarding without precedent more Victoria Crosses in one engagement than in any other battle/war in history…
And them Brits have been in quite a few wars…
Put some Zulus in the Green and Gold, send them to Twickenham and then you will see sparks fly…
Zulus + Afrikaners + coupla Souties (for the brains) + coupla fast Xhosas = World Champs…
What more do you want?
25 Oct 2010, 16:11 pm
Pypkan.
Something like only 10% of the slaves transported from West Africa to the colonies in the New World survived the trip. Necessarily the strongest physically were the majority who managed to survive.
When freed slaves were repatriated to West Africa, they tended to be larger physically than the population that had remained.
25 Oct 2010, 16:12 pm
52. TRANSFORMATION(TRANSFORMATION):
Those poorbastards don’t have no progeny… Their survival strategy was obviously deficient… The faster runners survived that environment…
25 Oct 2010, 16:14 pm
WP Till I DIE
Thanks, makes a lot of sense.
25 Oct 2010, 16:14 pm
54. Heavens Game(Heavens Game): and where do you fit the cullerts like de jongh?
25 Oct 2010, 16:15 pm
WPTID
Because of Macdonalds?
25 Oct 2010, 16:16 pm
58. TRANSFORMATION(TRANSFORMATION)
Ja, the skilful De Jongs have to be included… They are the physical manifestations of heterosis… (look it up)
25 Oct 2010, 16:18 pm
53. Pypkan(Pypkan): man, i’ve seen malawians, rwandans, somalians & ethiopians, them n*ggas aint bigger than me!
25 Oct 2010, 16:22 pm
61. TRANSFORMATION(TRANSFORMATION): of course they shouldn’t be bigger – shortage of protein food for generations… has led to a more successful phenotype where a more smaller, efficient body has a greater chance of survival to continue their progeny…
25 Oct 2010, 16:24 pm
transie
that’s because many of those are taliban n*ggas and have spent many years hiding under rocks from US spy satellites and bombers.
thus they are shorter.
and quite thin.
25 Oct 2010, 16:28 pm
Transformation
Hehe, I know I am generalising a bit.
I’ve been to New York a few years ago and am relatively tall 191cm. I felt like a midget amongst the African Americans. They are not only tall but have huge frames too.
25 Oct 2010, 16:33 pm
yet you see very few tall guys in west africa. most are small to medium in height.
25 Oct 2010, 16:34 pm
Pypkan
Now THAT is MacDonald’s and Kentucky Fried Chicken’s fault.
25 Oct 2010, 16:46 pm
64. Pypkan(Pypkan): i know, i played basketball with a lot of them, even them cats from cameroon tower of us but i’m damn sure ain’t no mofocken somalian, eritrian, burundian n*ggas running around that are WAAYYY bigger than me!
25 Oct 2010, 22:42 pm
I will footy and not genes as Tranny might cut me down again.
There are fools on this site, no names mentioned, that believe JDV is kak and overrated. He is one of our best 3 centres in South Africa. JF, JDJ and JDV.
He might not tackle like JDJ or fecth like JDJ but he passes which can be said is better than the other two, especially JF. How many times do scream pass the ******* ball. JDV has great periferal vision and knows where is players are.
25 Oct 2010, 23:27 pm
There are substantial genetic differences between races resulting in physical differences. I import stuff from China and they generally view us as giants. It is also generally true of South African races and tribes. Xhosas seem to be smaller than Zulus. Within the Zulu nations the men up north in Maputaland tend to be bigger than the men in the Southern regions around Ixopo. IT’s not exact science, but that’s my observation. The Zulu men that know from the Northern Berg area (descendants of the Mtetwa of Dingizwayo) seems to be a little on the short side as well. The San or Boesmans also tend to be shorter and smaller. What’s all the fuss about?
25 Oct 2010, 23:29 pm
Most people on the site that doesn’t rate JdV will probably think Jauzion’s also rubbish and so was Michael du Plessis. It’s got to do about what you think 12 play is all about.
25 Oct 2010, 23:39 pm
JDV has been a pretty one-dimensional centre through the years, his line-breaks have disguised his clear inability to make the most of them, his average to poor defence, poor distribution and almost complete absence of a kicking game. It’s almost like looking at Spies’s long-distance tries and overlooking his poor work-rate, average hands and defence. However, since returning from Munster I must say JDV has been linking with those outside him much better and is a somewhat more rounded player for it.
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