Newlands has always been Jean de Villiers’ second home. It’s where he worshiped his idols as a youngster, before he became one of the darlings of the Cape faithful that adorn this grand old stadium with their flags and colourful banners year in and year out.
But it now looks like the 20 minutes he played against the World XV in July was his last hurrah at Newlands. Fittingly, fans got to see him gallop towards the Jan Pickard Stand before setting up Willie le Roux for a try.
De Villiers announced his retirement from international rugby on Sunday after he was ruled out of the rest of the World Cup with a fractured jaw that he suffered in the Springboks’ 46-6 victory over Samoa.
He wants to play one or two more seasons before hanging up his boots for good, but it looks like the centre won’t have his swansong in this country or his beloved Newlands
“I will take a couple of weeks to think about my future. There are obviously a lot of emotions going through my head at the moment, and you want to be clear before making those decisions,” De Villiers said yesterday after arriving at the Cape Town International Airport from England to have his jaw examined.
“If I do hang up my boots permanently, I want to make sure that I have had enough. And to be honest, I’m still enjoying playing, I’m still loving it. Even though I wont be playing in a Springbok jersey again, I would love to play rugby again. Where that will be, I don’t know yet.
“It won’t be in South Africa. I can’t see that happening at this stage. It would’ve been nice to play another couple of games at Newlands, but I don’t think that is going to happen.”
De Villiers’ fractured jaw continues a World Cup curse that he hasn’t been able to break, because this is the fourth time that injury has cut short his participation at rugby’s showpiece event.
“I was asked the question if I thought I was the unluckiest Springbok to play at the World Cup. I said ‘no’, I’m the unluckiest rugby player who has played at a World Cup,” he said.
“To be chosen for four World Cup and to suffer injuries in all four, I would have loved to see the odds as far as that is concerned. We aren’t allowed to bet, but I would’ve made good money!
“World Cups haven’t worked out for me, but I had a great test career that lasted 13 years. I can’t complain about that. The timing of my injuries was bad, but they are always part of rugby.”
De Villiers went straight to the dentist from the airport yesterday to have his jaw checked out. He is likely to have surgery today or tomorrow, and will return to England and the Boks to lend a hand as an advisor.
The 34-year-old will work with the three young centres in the group, Jesse Kriel, Damian de Allende and Jan Serfontein, before the knockout stages of the tournament.
De Villiers, one of the great defensive organisers on a rugby field, will have to help sharpen up the organisation of the midfielders, especially at No 13.
“We (the senior players) share the knowledge of the game and the experiences that we had. I have spent a lot of time with Jesse over the last couple of weeks, and obviously with Damian over the last few years,” De Villiers said.
“I will still be doing that when I get back. I think it’s very important because I need to give back now. If I do go over, it’s definitely not on a holiday, it’s to assist wherever I can and to make a positive contribution to the team.”
De Villiers also mentioned that the Boks are in a better frame of mind following their shock 34-32 loss to the Japan in their opening World Cup Pool B match.
The Boks bounced back on Saturday with their emphatic win over the Samoans, and they can take control of their pool with a win over Scotland this weekend.
“Japan was really tough for us, that loss, but it might’ve just been the kick up the backside we needed. It’s a different Springbok team now. I’m looking foward to go back and support the guys,” DeVilliers said.
“From a team point of view, they are certainly in a much better space than last week. Hopefully we can get a good performance on the weekend again.” - Cape Times