Please note snapster as you tend to get this wrong
Jean de Villiers wants to be judged by form, not age, now and in the build-up to the 2015 World Cup, writes JON CARDINELLI in Nelspruit
De Villiers has been one of the shining lights for the Stormers in an otherwise bleak Super Rugby season. He turned 32 this year, but has continued to show the individual brilliance that made him such a star for Jake White's Tri-Nations-winning Springboks in 2004.
Has he lost his vision or hand speed? The veteran centre scored a great try against the Bulls in the opening game of the season, a try that not many younger players could have completed. De Villiers picked up the ball from the base of the ruck and placed it over the tryline. The movement was lightning quick and the Bulls' defence had no chance of stopping it.
When he has faced the press during the Super Rugby season, De Villiers has stated defiantly that 'age is just a number'. There have been further examples that De Villiers's defining and long celebrated attributes have not faded. He scored a fantastic individual try against the Blues in Auckland, and showed his pace to beat the Reds cover defence in a match played at Newlands. Most recently, he scored against Italy, his 21st try in 85 Tests.
So does De Villiers deserves his place in the Bok starting side at this point? The answer is an emphatic 'yes'. Should he be entrenched in that midfield in the lead-up to the 2015 World Cup? There is no definitive answer to that one.
SARugbymag.co.za put the question to the Bok captain on Friday. He's played some brilliant rugby already this season, and does that influence his decision to keep going, to target the 2015 showpiece as his swansong?
It is not an easy question to answer if you consider the mistake made by his predecessor.
John Smit will go down in history as the most accomplished Bok captain and one of South Africa's finest ambassadors, but the fact remains that Smit was past his best in the build-up to the 2011 World Cup, and should never have been backed in a starting position (Why was he?).
So with all this in mind, it was pleasing to hear De Villiers state that he won't fall into the trap of making promises that he, or the Bok selectors, could struggle to keep.
'Selection should come down to performance. If you're playing well enough, then you're young enough. I may be 32, but I don't feel that old,' De Villiers said.
'I think to talk about me playing in 2015 is premature. At the moment I feel that I'm playing well, and my body is feeling good. I've played the full 80 minutes in 14 games already this season.'
De Villiers's current contract with the Stormers will expire at the end of 2014. If his body is still standing up to the gruelling examination of international rugby, he may opt to extend that contract and also continue with the Boks.
If his form is in clear decline, however, he could choose to end his rugby career in Europe, where he has already featured for Irish club Munster (in 2009-10).
It's an issue that Heyneke Meyer will need to address at some point. If Meyer feels that De Villiers no longer commands a starting place and that he won't make it to the 2015 World Cup, then a new captain must be groomed in the lead-up to that tournament.
At the moment, Adriaan Strauss is the favourite to succeed De Villiers in that position of ultimate responsibility. Meyer said as much ahead of the Test against Italy. De Villiers was initially in doubt for that fixture, and if he hadn't passed a late fitness Test, Strauss would have assumed the captaincy.
It's a decision that Meyer will have to make eventually, but for the 2013 season at least, De Villiers will remain in charge.
And on current form, he deserves his starting place as well as the captaincy.
'I will have to consider my future at the end of next year, but I have to say that I'm really enjoying my rugby at the moment,' he said. 'I'm really enjoying being part of this team.
'You know, you're only here [at this level] for a short while, so you really have to make the most of it
Jean has been a great Bok and one wishes him all the best and the wisdom to retire at the right moment. Struass could be the right man to take over the captaincy but what if Bissie is playing out of his socks - enter pierre spies!!!
