Jean de Villiers (rugby player)

Jean de Villiers

Player information
birthday	February 24, 1981
place of birth	Paarl , South Africa
Nickname	Bukio
society
society	Munster rugby
position	Inner three quarters
Clubs as active
Years	society	Games (points)
2001–2013 2005–2013 2009–2010	Western Province Stormers (Super Rugby) Munster Rugby	50 (150) 96 (135) 23 (40)
National team
Years	National team	Games (points)
2002-2015	South Africa	109 (135)
Status: September 28, 2015 National team: September 28, 2015

Jean de Villiers (born February 24, 1981 in Paarl ) is a former South African rugby union player who played as the inner three quarters for the South African national team and the Irish province of Munster . In 2007 he became world champion with the "Springboks" .

Career

De Villiers first drew attention to himself wearing the 7-man jersey . With this selection he was second in the IRB Sevens World Series and third in the Commonwealth Games in 2002. In the same year he won the World Cup with the U21 selection of South Africa. Due to his outstanding performance at this World Cup, he was used for the first time in the men's national team against New Zealand in November 2002 . After only five minutes, however, he seriously injured his knee and was out for over a year.

De Villiers returned to the ranks of the national team in 2004 and celebrated the second title win at the Tri Nations . He was first named captain in 2006 when South Africa faced a world selection. At the 2007 World Cup he was also part of the squad, but another injury put him out of action after the first group game against Samoa , so that he could not continue to contribute to the successful course of the tournament.

After a disappointing Tri Nations , de Villiers was nominated for the roster for the November 2008 international. The South Africans managed to win all games against the British selections, including the biggest home defeat in history for England . In 2009 he was part of the South Africa squad when it met the British and Irish Lions . The Springboks won the series 2-1 and also secured the third title at the Tri Nations in the same year.

De Villiers moved to the Irish region of Munster after the Tri Nations in 2009 .

After contracting a mandible fracture in the preliminary round match against Samoa on September 26, 2015 at the 2015 World Cup , he announced the end of his career.

Web links

• Profile at Munster
• National team profile

Individual evidence

1. ^ South Africa announce Lions squad. BBC, June 1, 2009, accessed June 2, 2009 . 
2. ^ Munster confirm De Villiers' signature. (No longer available online.) Planet Rugby, July 20, 2009, archived from the original on July 24, 2009 ; accessed on July 22, 2009 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  
3. ↑ End of career after a broken jaw. Report on sport1.de, September 29, 2015. Accessed on September 29, 2015.