Springbok centre Jean de Villiers‘ international career will be terminated after this year’s Tri-Nations tournament when he joins Munster in Ireland.

The Springbok inside centre was in sparkling form when South Africa opened the overseas leg of their Tri-Nations account with a five point, 32-25 win over Australia in Perth last week.

Bryan Habana praised the No.12′s performance for the first of his two tries, saying pressure from De Villiers on Australia’s defence from an up and under kick by scrumhalf Fourie du Preez had enabled him to snatch a loose ball and race through to score.

There has, however, been some conjecture over whether De Villiers would join Munster immediately after the Tri-Nations or at the end of the Currie Cup season.

The former WP and Stormers captain put those rumours to bed in Australia by revealing that he would be joining Munster after the Tri-Nations.

“For me, going away after the Tri-Nations and ending the tournament on a high would be a great thing. This team is fantastic, awesome guys and it’s been great to be a part of it.”

Asked if he would ever play for South Africa again, considering that the Springboks do not have a policy of selecting overseas-based players, De Villiers said: “I hope so, but I doubt
it. [Coach] Peter [De Villiers] has got a policy of not selecting overseas players and rightly so. So I will need to keep strong, try and play good rugby and get selected hopefully in the future.”

De Villiers will line up with Jaque Fourie, playing his 50th Test, in a Springbok line-up in Brisbane against a Wallaby line-up featuring the return of Berrick Barnes, who missed the Perth game with an injury.

Western Province have been gunning to sign Fourie as a replacement for De Villiers, apparently for a salary of ZAR3-million per annum, but so far the Lions have refused to release him from a contract that still has a year to run.

Fourie has refused to comment on where he might be playing after the Tri-Nations, but De Villiers said it was still his dream to clinch a Currie Cup winner’s medal to go with his World Cup and Tri-Nations medals.

“Who knows. Maybe I could be back in South Africa playing [on the] Currie Cup [competition] after a year or two,” he said.

Bio:
Full name: Jean
Surname: de Villiers
Height: 190cm
Weight: 103kg
Birth date: 24 February 1981
Birth city: Paarl
Primary school: Paarl Gymnasium
Secondary school: Paarl Gymnasium
Tertiary education: University of Stellenbosch
Province: Western Province (2002)
Springbok number: 735
Test debut: 9 November 2002 v France in Marseilles aged 21
Last test: 29 August 2009 v Australia in Perth aged 28
Total tests: 52
Win ratio: 36-15-1 (Holds Springbok record with Jaque Fourie for most tests as a centre combination – 19)
Tours: France, Scotland & England, 2002; British Isles, Ireland & Argentina, 2004; Argentina, Wales & France, 2005; Ireland & England, 2006; RWC in France, Wales & Scotland, 2007, British Isles, 2008.
Awards: SA Rugby Player of the Year nominee, 2005; SA Rugby Player of the Year, 2008; Players’ Player of the Year, 2008; Super 14 Player of Year nominee, 2008.

Source: rugby365.com

Tags: jean de villiers, Springboks