2013 entrance exam for De Villiers
9 Nov 2012
Writing in Dublin, RYAN VREDE says the year-end tour will be a defining one in Jean de Villiers’ Test career.
De Villiers’ biggest battle at this point is not one shared by the collective, but very personal. His record as Springbok captain is poor and his form short of his inspirational best. His is a battle within a broader battle, manning his charges while trying to prove his ongoing worth as a Test player. De Villiers knows this and has an acute sense of the importance of this tour for him.
Heyneke Meyer has often purposefully, and inadvertently at other times, compounded the pressure on his captain to maintain a high level of performance. Meyer said from the outset that De Villiers will foremost be judged on his form and stressed that he would be done no selection favours if that form waned.
De Villiers knows that he isn’t Meyer’s first-choice inside centre and well down the queue of 13s. Meyer is actively working to secure the services of Jaque Fourie for the 2013 season, feeling the Japan-based player’s experience and class will elevate their backline play. JP Pietersen was strongly considered as an outside centre (with Jaco Taute playing fullback) for this tour. Bryan Habana’s injury forced a rethink, but Pietersen remains in contention for the position going forward, Meyer feeling his size and speed could give them a new dimension in the channel. Furthermore, Juan de Jongh continues to push for selection. A couple of days short of his 32nd birthday, De Villiers no longer has the speed to be considered as a winger, a position he was highly competent in in the infancy of his international career.
With no selection promises if and when his competition recover from injuries and his tenure as captain expiring at the end of the tour, De Villiers faces an uncertain 2013 if he doesn’t make an emphatic statement in the next three weeks, one that will remind Meyer of the class that puts him among the world’s pre-eminent midfielders when on form.
Fatigue may compromise his ability to achieve this goal. He has far exceeded the game time that a professional is able to play before his form drops off markedly, while the mental rigours of captaincy in a difficult season will further undermine his cause. He needs a break desperately. That won’t come on this tour. Consider also that he plays outside Pat Lambie, in just his second start at flyalf.
It is against this backdrop that De Villiers will have to summon something special in order to ensure the longevity of his Test career.
De Villiers’ jovial spirit belies a strength of character that will benefit him at this time. In a recent SA Rugby magazine interview I described him as ‘… a Whisper with a ball bearing centre. ‘You’ll crack your teeth if you think you can crack him,’ I added. I hope that quality enables him to overcome the obstacles that stand in his path to convincing Meyer not to cast him aside in 2013.
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12 Comments
9 Nov 2012, 15:00 pm
Great servant of SA Rugby, but he should retire sooner rather than later. He deserves it.
Bok rugby cannot afford another John Smit.
9 Nov 2012, 15:26 pm
@1. willlievz – agreed, great servant to SA rugby. But in my opinion, he is way over-rated as a player (and has been for years) and his decision-making in the recent Championship was poor. In many instances during that competition, when we were pressing on the opposition’s line, the Boks continued the pick and go to the try line instead of JdV making the call to swing it wide, when even the opposition backs were defending close to the forwards because they were confident enough to know that the Boks would try to force a try through brutality. A call by the Captain at critical moments to let the ball go wide, would have yielded 7 point scores (well at least 5) instead of penalties which we were often missing. Thanks JdV, but time to move on!
9 Nov 2012, 15:30 pm
@willievz-1:
@Maljan-2:
agreed.
the pace is slowing though and he should look at this. if he cannot compensate somehow or increase fitness in order to improve pace then he needs to consider his impact as a player.
9 Nov 2012, 16:09 pm
Uvala iz’thuba, maka hambe!
9 Nov 2012, 16:21 pm
2013 we really need to move on….
Stormers as well imo.
9 Nov 2012, 16:35 pm
@grant10-5:
Nah….
Super Rugby is full of injuries as you should remember with Duane Vermeulen and Schalk who both played very little of this year’s tournament. Let’s say Brache get’s inured in pre-season and JP Du Plessis gets injured in the second game. Depth is essential
…
9 Nov 2012, 17:02 pm
@wp_boytjie-6: I agree…..not saying he should not play…..just that he should not be viewed as a ‘ must start ‘ type….
Stormers best midfield combo has been JF and JDJ…..and even this year I felt Stormers best was when JDV was sidelined and Habana partnered JDJ….
Just my opinion
9 Nov 2012, 21:18 pm
The man has done his duty. Filling in for Schalla and taking over the reins for the Bokke. He is a brilliant captain. He does not pick the team. His playing time is coming to an end. But the Stormers will need him next year as the “Ryan Giggs/Paul Scholes” backup. The team needs his input – one way or another. And AC is no idiot.
9 Nov 2012, 22:59 pm
IMO there is very little to choose between Steyn and de Villiers at 12. De Villiers at his best is close to pure magic.
Who else would you prefer? Wynand Olivier? Meyer Bosman?
9 Nov 2012, 23:51 pm
JdV has been overplayed to the max. Give him a good rest. Like him as a player, think he’s a good guy also. Kudos where it is due.
10 Nov 2012, 04:05 am
@Finfan-9:
Thierry Henry at his best is also pure magic but Thierry Henry, just like Jean de Villiers, is way past his best and will never recapture it. Father Time couldn’t give a fig, he creeps up on all of us, from superstar to backyard hack.
And just like Henry can still play a bit – in a weaker league, no longer for his country – so de Villiers needs to move along. I’ve been fan of his and appreciate what he has done but, as willievz said, we can’t afford another John Smit.
And no, we don’t want Wynand Olivier or Meyer Bosman as they’re the poor man’s de Villiers…and equally long in the tooth.
10 Nov 2012, 12:20 pm
Jean has been a great leader, now it’s time for him to enjoy the good life in France.
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