Durban - Jean de Villiers’ brave and long battle to overcome injury is expected to
be rewarded on Friday evening when he is named as captain of Heyneke Meyer’s
31-man Springbok squad for the Rugby World Cup in England.
De Villiers is one of a number of senior Springboks who have played little or no
rugby in recent weeks and face late fitness assessments before the squad is
finalised and announced.
De Villiers suffered a career-threatening knee injury in Cardiff last November and
eight months of rehabilitation saw him return for the Springboks’ Rugby
Championship Test against the Pumas at King’s Park on August 8.
A fractured jaw in that international, involving a healing period of between four
and six weeks, again cast doubt on his participation in the World Cup.
Complicating Meyer’s selection problem was the Rugby Championship form
shown by the new and young midfield pairing of Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel.
This has led to speculation that De Villiers’ selection would be a disruption, just
as the inclusion of a limping Bob Skinstad ahead of long-serving captain Gary
Teichmann derailed the 1999 World Cup Springboks.
The coaching staff and the medical team are playing their cards close to their
chests regarding the availability of the De Villiers and the others who have been
medically boarded, but one of the Springboks told The Witness on Wednesday
that “Jean will definitely be in the squad.”
“Duane (Vermeulen), Francois (Louw) and Fourie (Du Preez) will also there, no
problem,” he added.
Team doctor Craig Roberts certainly hinted that all was well medically in the Bok
squad at the weekend though the lack of match practice of at least a dozen
players remains a concern.
Roberts had always been confident that De Villiers would be ready for the World
Cup, pointing out that while the Springbok captain would not be able to take
contact for a couple of weeks, he was able to continue his fitness training and the
rehab work on his knee.
Still, the rugby public remains divided over whether De Villiers, short of
game-time, should captain the team when his place in the starting line-up is not
guaranteed.
It appears Meyer is satisfied that De Villiers is ready. With veteran Jaque Fourie
declaring himself unavailable for the World Cup, and Frans Steyn’s involvement in
some doubt, Meyer patently lacks midfield experience. De Villiers obviously
provides that in heaps while he can play at either inside or outside centre and
remains one of the most respected captains, on and off the field, in world rugby.
The other injured players who have been sidelined, some for weeks and others for
months, are Fourie du Preez, Duane Vermeulen, Francois Louw, Marcell
Coetzee,
Frans Steyn, Coenie Oosthuizen, Jannie du Plessis and JP Pietersen while
Pieter-Steph du Toit, Willem Alberts and Victor Matfield have seen only limited
action since their return. It is expected that all these players, apart from
perhaps Steyn (pectoral muscle injury) and Sharks flank Coetzee, who has
damaged knee ligaments, have been cleared for selection.
Springbok scrum coach Pieter de Villiers said that there would be five props in
the World Cup group.
“We had the option of taking five or six props. We discussed it earlier this week
and five was the number we settled on for the props, with three hookers.”
This would probably result in the Boks taking 17 forwards and 14 backs with
Pieter-Steph du Toit included as a fourth lock (with Victor Matfield, Eben Etzebeth
and Lood de Jager) and cover for Willem Alberts at blindside flank.
The two tightheads are expected to be Jannie du Plessis and Marcel van der Merwe
(or Frans Malherbe) with Trevor Nyakane and Tendai Mtawarira the looseheads and fit-again Coenie Oosthuizen able to pack down on both sides.
The three hookers will obviously be Bismarck du Plessis, Adriaan Strauss and
Schalk Brits.
De Villiers said that first-choice tighthead Jannie du Plessis had fully recovered
from injury.
“I thought our performance against Argentina in Buenos Aires showed how
important attitude is when it comes to scrumming. We were up for it in that game
so our physicality, which was lacking in Durban the week before, was there and
everything fitted into place. We are in the position where we are going to leave
good players who have done well out of the squad.”
