De Villiers wants to prove his worth
Jean De Villiers has come under heavy criticism for his lack of form in the Boks' loss against Japan last weekend.
|||Birmingham – Springbok captain Jean de Villiers has acknowledged his stay of execution as captain and from the starting line-up to play against Samoa in their second Rugby World Cup game at Villa Park and says that he will justify his selection through his actions.
De Villiers came under heavy criticism for his lack of form in the Springboks loss against Japan last weekend in Brighton and so too Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer for persisting with De Villiers instead of starting with the in-form centre pairing of Damian de Allende and Jesse Kriel.
While De Allende has been elevated back into the starting line-up to partner De Villiers in the midfield, Meyer defended his decision earlier in the week to keep De Villiers and drop Kriel to the bench.
“I’m aware of the criticism that he (Meyer) has come under for selecting me but at the end of the day he thought it best to do that. I am grateful for the opportunity to play. I want the team to be successful and win whether I’m part of it or not, whether it is in the starting team, on the bench or on the stands. The responsibility I have this week is to perform on the field and I’ve been given this opportunity again by the coach and now is the time to put up my hand and a performance that warrants that selection,” said De Villiers at a press conference after the team’s captain’s run at Villa Park in Birmingham.
The 34-year-old De Villiers has featured in 108 Test for the Springboks mostly at centre but his place in the team has come under increasing scrutiny since his knee injury at the end of last year and subsequent jaw fracture last month.
There had been fears this year that De Villiers would not be fit enough to make it to the World Cup but against all odds De Villiers not only recovered in time but managed to play in the Springboks match against the World XV and to lead the side in their Rugby Championship loss against Argentina in Durban where he broke his jaw.
There have been growing sentiment in South Africa that De Villiers was not the best centre in the country and that Meyer had selected him purely on his experience and leadership.
Earlier in the week Meyer admitted that he had mulled over De Villiers’ selection for a long time but had decided to retain his captain out of sentiment of a player that always overcomes bad situations and out of high regard for his leadership.
De Villiers’ leadership has also been under the microscope after it emerged this week that he defied orders from Meyer during the Japan game but De Villiers said he had the freedom to make decisions on the field as he saw fit and the game against Samoa would be about the team and management singing from the same hymn sheet.
“A lot of speculation comes with a loss like the one we had against Japan. A lot of people would want to find fault with the way that we do things, try to break the team and see if they can get things that can upset the team even more. For us it is about sticking together as a group and not pointing fingers at all. The backing that the coach has given me, I need to perform on that and I need to show that I deserve that opportunity.”
“As a squad we all know what our responsibilities are and it is about doing that. There is one boss and that is the coach and we need to do what he expects of us. Sometimes there will be calls that get passed on and sometimes I will have the freedom to make the calls that I think is best on the field. It is finding that synergy and making sure that we don’t leave no stone unturned and thinking in the same direction. We have a clear plan on what we are united in what we want to do and that is the only way we can rectify this (loss to Japan),” De Villiers said.