Of all the springboks that have come and gone, many have been underrated by Bok supporters.
However one that was constantly overrated is former captain Jean de Villiers .
The Boks were never consistent under his captaincy and to be honest, he was better on the wing than he was at 12 or 13.\
Sorry okes, I just never rated him.
He was OK Chips, not great...his forward pass took us out of 2011...harsh, yes a Moz move ..and he shouldn't have been in the 2015 team ahead of Damian...but still a great servant of the Bokke.
If I'm not mistaken he was flat on his back when making that forward pass but it was forward for sure, always believed he suffered average hands the pass cost the Boks a semi final spot.
I liked Jean, prefered him over Meisiekind, but he wasn't ready to come back for the 2015 RWC...and DdA played good rugga for the Stormers back then.
Jean's biggest weakness was his penchant for ill timed defensive rushes that opened up gaps for the opposition. But other than that you can't even begin to compare his skillset and ability to read play with that of DDA - it's not even a contest. Jean wins by a mile.
Not to forget that Jean played in the era when both the All Blacks and Australia were still powerhouses.
If we ever see DDA running a support line like Jean does at 2:53, then maybe we can talk. But he doesn't. He would have been jogging somewhere around the halfway line in that move.
I liked Jean, prefered him over Meisiekind, but he wasn't ready to come back for the 2015 RWC
Yes, he stuck around a season too long, which may have somewhat tarnished people's memory of him. He should probably have retired at the end of 2013 .
Dud Allende 83 tests/11 tries
JdV 109 tests/ 27 tries
And I guarantee you the try assists would be even more in JdV’s favor. A giant of the game vs a tractor.
Moz, tonight's game, you watching or is it alweer Gerhard Viviers ?
Back home Blob….thanks for the good steer last week. I wouldn’t say he was Gerhard but a lot better than reading the Telegraph play by play.
ouDawie's watching the game on Tuesday.
Dave will never walk alone?