Jean de Villiers
Springbok captain Jean de Villiers will get more valuable game time on Saturday as his quest to regain full match fitness and book his ticket to the Rugby World Cup continues.
De Villiers will start again for DHL Western Province when they take on the EP Kings in Port Elizabeth on Saturday after he played 60 minutes in WP’s 19 / 6 loss to the Steval Pumas last Saturday.
WP coach John Dobson confirmed that De Villiers would likely be given an hour once more.
“He’s hinted at playing longer this week but he’s not going to get it,” Dobson joked.
“It’ll be exactly the same – 60 minutes.”
There had been concerns over a calf strain following the Pumas game, but Dobson ensured that De Villiers was fine.
“The calf is fine. He trained full out now,” Dobson said after Monday’s training session.
“Contact-wise he’s brilliant. Acceleration is still the issue and I think the calf and the knee combined are a threat there.”
Dobson said that he had seen an improvement in De Villiers willingness to take heavy contact.
“I thought on Saturday (against the Pumas) he was at 100%. The only thing I spoke to him about afterwards was the acceleration,” said Dobson.
“I think he’s worried about the calf and it was a heavier field but he trained full today.”
With Dobson looking to field as strong a side as he can on Saturday, WP could be boasting a Springbok pairing at centre.
“It will be the strongest team possible against the Kings, with 1 or 2 exceptions,” said Dobson,
“Our centre combination could be Jean de Villiers and Juan de Jongh, which isn’t half bad.”
Kick-off on Saturday is at 19:00 SA Time.
Sport24