Break has done Jean wonders
2 Nov 2012
Jean de Villiers admits that the hamstring injury that precluded him from the Currie Cup play-offs was a blessing in disguise.
Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer has repeatedly criticised the manner in which South African rugby is run with regards to player management. Meyer believes that South Africa should following the example set by New Zealand, who centrally contract their top players and thus ensure that they are not overplayed in matches that essentially don’t matter.
The Boks returned to their provinces after the Rugby Championship, and were immediately rushed back into Currie Cup action. De Villiers expressed his disappointment when he was asked to start in Western Province’s final league match against the Cheetahs, and as if to prove his point, succumbed to injury in that match.
This injury would see De Villiers missing WP’s semi-final and final appearances. The Bok captain, however, believes that the two-week break from rugby has done him a world of good.
The Boks will depart for their three-Test tour of Europe on Saturday, and while De Villiers has been unable to train with the team, he is adamant that he will be fit for that first game against Ireland.
‘It’s getting better every day,’ he said. ‘I’m not 100% yet, but hopefully by the time I arrive in Ireland I will be ready to start training.
‘Aside from the injury, I’m as fresh as a daisy. My rehab has gone to plan, and it’s amazing what a break like this can do for you mentally as well as physically.
‘I have spent a lot of that break with the WP side, but it does make a big difference when you aren’t actually playing. It’s been great and now I’m looking forward to getting back on the field.’
De Villiers reiterated what was said by Meyer on Wednesday, that Saru should reconsider the way players are managed if they hope for the Boks to enjoy sustained success at Test level.
De Villiers believes that international players should be playing fewer Super Rugby and Currie Cup games in a calendar year, and that Tests should be viewed as the priority.
‘The reality of the matter is that there are 12 Tests a year, and as a pro you want to play as many of those as possible. You don’t want to be resting for Tests.’
The Bok captain added that the squad will be mentally and physically prepared for the challenge that a tour to Ireland, Scotland and England will present.
‘It is a shortish tour, and after the last game it’s the holidays,’ he said. ‘There’s lots to play for and personally my attitude is a lot better than it has been on previous [northern] tours.
‘I’m really excited and feeling fresh, and I can see by the way the guys have been training this week that they share the same positive attitude.’
By Jon Cardinelli, in Cape Town
73 Comments
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4 Nov 2012, 13:33 pm
about june to novenber 2008 under pdivvy.
lost four and won two against oz/nz
4 Nov 2012, 13:42 pm
@cane-50:
to be fair, its unfair and a little nasty to say that because in truth it is his father who was involved in a few zim farm grabs but this has/had nothing to do with him and for gods sakes the guy was probably still a kid in high school at the time.
4 Nov 2012, 14:22 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-52:
Did he profit from his fathers greed.
They nailed Nazi’s………………………………….why not Zimbo Landgrabbers?
Did they do anything at all for Zimbabwe.
They did less than nothing.
4 Nov 2012, 14:22 pm
And most likey,
continue to do nothing until this day.
4 Nov 2012, 14:23 pm
@Treehugger-46:
He has to be a citizen of SA to play for the Boks…with a SA identity document, passport etc.
The law prohibits any sporting code from selecting a person to represent South Africa at international level if the person is not a legitimate citizen of the country.
Can’t understand what Meyer is busy doing here.
4 Nov 2012, 14:28 pm
@cane-53:
Mujati has challenged anybody to talk to the owner of the farm that his father allegedly “grabbed” and ask him what the real truth is behind that story.
So far, nobody has done so.
4 Nov 2012, 14:41 pm
@cane-53:
huh? i dont think there’s ever been a single documented instance of a high level nazi’s son being punished for the sins of the father..?.. so that makes no sense.
also, the land grabbers are still firmly entrenched in power in zim so they certainly are’nt going to start nailing themselves are they.
and with loads of support from other africans in the region i dont see that scenario changing soon.
they’re a funny lot in how they laud their land reform and companies indigenisation programmes and ‘how its done wonders’ for them yet are standing cap in hand hoping for ANOTHER cash handout from the sa and angola governments as we speak.
for the record, they’re asking for 100 million dollars US from us (thats 878 million rands).
***** knows if i were to calculate the amount of money the zimbabwean government owes south africa to date OR the amount of money the government of sa has written off over the last 10 to 15 years.
and this is the ‘economic liberation’ example joojoo and co hope to follow…
4 Nov 2012, 14:55 pm
@nama1-56:
But everything changed just after 1 o’clock on Monday 8th December of 2003 when ‘occupiers’ burst through the farm gates and told Tienie’s daughter Shelly that they were taking Tiny Farm and wanted to see her father .
Hearing of the crisis nearby, a neighbour phoned Tienie who was in Harare at the time. He hastened back that afternoon to meet a large man accompanied by 12 youths in a belligerent mood. The man introduced himself as Joseph Mujati, handed Martin a letter and informed him that he was taking over the farm immediately.
Martin looked at the letter and noted that that it was for the acquisition of the adjacent property known as ‘Tiny Extension’ not Tiny Farm. He pointed out this fact to Mujati who said it was irrelevant and that the letter could be changed in two minutes to read Tiny Farm. He was adamant he wanted Tiny Farm and the Martin family home for 80 years.
He told Martin to start packing immediately and to get off the property.
“I insisted he was acting illegally,” remembers Martin. “I phoned the police in Nyazura who arrived to tell me I would not be subjected to any violence but that I had to pack and leave in the morning.
“At the crack of dawn my wife Charlotte, my daughter Shelly and myself started packing. Our situation was made worse by the verbal abuse we were subjected to while trying to pack in the presence of two policemen. This carried on all the time but they could not wait for us to leave and the looting of the house started while we were still there. Not even my golf clubs were spared. 100m away my eldest daughter Shayne was also being harassed and verbally abused while trying to pack up her home. One policeman mentioned that he could not believe his eyes. He was standing witness to a crime and forbidden to do anything.
“We left that afternoon at 4:30pm with three vehicles and our furniture thanks to friends and neighbours who sent transport to assist us without us having to ask. We will be forever grateful. They were fantastic. I reminded myself that we were lucky we had not been beaten or murdered like so many others. My crops, livestock, tractors and workshop equipment were all left behind. In a few hours we had lost everything. Three generations had worked hard to build what was taken in a day.
“On the night of 12 December 2003, one of my workers who had been with me for 12 years was called by Mujati and accused of being a ‘sell out’. He was beaten, tied up in a net and dumped into the swimming pool. He was lucky to survive. Another one of my workers who was looking after my cattle was subjected to threats and had to flee. He later returned to carry on with his work.
“The next day, a Saturday I went to the farm with the police but was not allowed into the yard and not allowed to speak to any of my workers. I was very worried about them and anxious to find out if they were alright but forbidden to do so. Mujati told me that he was now also the owner of my crops, and said he would pay for all of them as well as my equipment (to this day 4 years on I have not received a cent and have lost millions of rands). I had paprika, maize and tobacco almost ready to be reaped. He told me my workers were to stop working and that I should pay them their gratuities as he would then take them over, and that our domestic staff were to leave the farm.
“I was told by Mujati in the presence of a police Superintendent that none of my tractors and equipment would be used by him or moved off the farm. Soon after I left the tractors were sent out to work.
“After having meetings with the Governor of Manicaland I was told I could finish my crops, but was never allowed to do so. Then I had a call from Mujati telling me to get my cattle off the farm but I refused as I had no where to put them. He then ordered the cattle to be left in the pens with no water or food. A few days later I managed to get Mrs Harrison of the SPCA to visit the farm to try to save the cattle and she reported back that they were being looked after by my workers in spite of Mujati’s instructions.
“On Tuesday (13th Jan) I obtained another High Court Order instructing me to return to my house and farm and remain there until all my crops had been reaped. After the case I agreed to meet Mujati at the farm on the Friday, but he did not appear.
“The next day a truckload of thugs arrived at the house I was temporarily staying at, warning me against meeting Mujati. They warned me not to go to the farm as I would be ‘dealt with’ and the house I was staying in would be burnt to the ground. The home did not belong to me. It belonged to very good friends of mine who were kind enough to let us stay there in the interim. The mob also told me that the police had nothing to do with this matter.”
‘Tienie’ and Charlotte have not been back to their farm or home and live with little more than memories in a small rented town-house in Harare.
4 Nov 2012, 15:13 pm
@David-13:
Post 11 – …………. “will email you.”
and the reply in 13 is ” Thanks”
Is that your mode of operation with, and thus connection to, the ‘verligte’(actually misnomer as they are all ‘verkrampt’)Cape component of the Afrikaner Bond(sure you know that is their new name these days?)
My! The truth does always come out in strange ways.
4 Nov 2012, 15:16 pm
‘Tienie’ Martin was ambivalent about letting this story out. “I don’t
want to mess the youngster’s (Brian’s) career up,” he said. “What happened
to me,” he explained, “was not the son’s fault.” Then he went on to make a
telling point: “But hell his dad didn’t give my children too much thought
when he threw them out of their houses.”
I listened and encouraged him to do it because I thought it was a story that needed to be told in the interests of a bigger cause and only when convinced that this might help others did he agree. Today he was phoned and threatened twice by Joseph Mujati and has taken his wife and daughters into hiding. The Odzi Sports Club not far from Tiny Farm which once provided the hub of the community’s social activitiesis now a torture-centre run by a ZANU PF militia.
Traditionally Springbok rugby players are hard men who give no quarter
on the field of sporting battle but off they are gentlemen and this is what
has given the game and the people who play it a special place in sport.
Before he runs on the field tomorrow maybe Brian can start acting like a
Springbok and ask his father to leave Tienie, Charlotte and the girls in
peace.
4 Nov 2012, 15:17 pm
Am I at all surprised that too many do not know what constitutes a genuine South African?
Is the answer to be found in the fact that far too many on this site are off-spring or originals of the thieving, foreign-invader stock?
Another one bites the dust
4 Nov 2012, 15:21 pm
@David-13:
And another one does, another one does
Another one bites the dust.
Poor, thieving foreign invader is old ‘skinderbekkie’, David.
4 Nov 2012, 15:40 pm
Would just like to pay my respects to Nico van Vuuren, a Bulls U/21 rugby player, who died tragically in a car accident last night.
RIP.
4 Nov 2012, 16:08 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-58: Hi Bakkies.Have a good weekend.Was any of this info in the public domain.
4 Nov 2012, 16:35 pm
RIP nico
got to feel sorry for mujati, everytime people talk about him the zim land grab comes up. Which by the way was horrific and wrong on so many levels and is a important part of why the zim economy (once the bread basket of southern africa) is a shell of what it once was.
I’d like to hear the same reaction for the on going land grab in palestine, were the isreali occupational force is stealing more and more date and olive farm land every day. Im yet to read an out cry about that one this site ?
4 Nov 2012, 16:49 pm
@Mostofyou-59:
What the f*k are you talking about?
4 Nov 2012, 17:29 pm
well that was a great race.
pretty much had a little bit of everything.
4 Nov 2012, 17:36 pm
@I am a stormer-63:
yes, very tragic when anyone so young dies regardless of the circumstances, shame.
my condolences too.
@ryecatcher-64:
yes, and the same to you, rye.
these are some reports from the web and were articles by journalists/reporters at the time. i dont think anyone has interviewed mujati for his side of the story because how exaclty do you ask a zanu heavy in zim about his land grabbing behaviour without getting into trouble, i suppose.
@numba4lock-65:
really a little unrelated to springboks and rugby though dont you think.
tragic as it may be for the people suffering from it.
@David-66:
4 Nov 2012, 17:39 pm
@i_love_u_bakkiesbotha-68:
Looks like Sean spent sunday lunch in the pub.
4 Nov 2012, 17:48 pm
@David-69:
ja, possibly.
he makes a few jumbled utterances against somebody he has ostensibly ‘caught out’ about something… and then radio silence
4 Nov 2012, 19:05 pm
really, mujati must be harrassed by saffas for what his father apparently did in zimbabwe?
oh the irony.
4 Nov 2012, 19:51 pm
gotta love these guppy journos…
“the salt-and-pepper hair is more noticeable, the nervous swallowing more pronounced. Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer looks increasingly twitchy in the media spotlight as pressure mounts after poor start to his tenure. It’s not as bad as his poor start at the Bulls in 2002 , but with the weight of the entire nation on his shoulders, the worry lines are deepening.” – craig ray
4 Nov 2012, 22:46 pm
Waylon Murray spotted in PE, doing fitness tests at the Kings… Sport24. Run Waylon run!
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