Is Cape Town in De Villiers' destiny?
Tue, 23 Feb 2010 22:22
Not a Lion yet: Springbok Jean de Villiers in Munster colours
Having recently returned to Ireland from a Munster training camp in the Canary Islands, Jean de Villiers' career is once again firmly in the spotlight.
Last week he ended months of speculation over his future by confirming that he will be heading back to South Africa at the end of the current northern hemisphere season. The former Stormer has been in Limerick since September and is a big fan favourite in Thomond Park.
Referring to his move, de Villiers puts the decision in simple terms.
"This will definitely be the last time that I get the opportunity to put myself in a position to play in the World Cup and I would love to at least give it a shot."
And while he is playing out his time in Ireland, back in South Africa the big question surrounding de Villiers' return has been whether or not he will return to the Cape to resume his relationship with the Stormers.
According to de Villiers, there have been a few unions enquiring after his services.
"There has been interest, but I have let my agent take care of that while I focus on the Munster stuff."
However, he concedes that his heart lies in the Cape, and an offer from Province represents his ideal outcome.
"For me, having grown up in the Western Cape and being a Western Province boy my whole life, it would be difficult to not go back there," De Villiers told rugby365.com.
"It is a professional era, and you never say never, but it would definitely be my first choice. If I don't come right there for whatever reason - if they don't show interest or we can't come to an agreement - then obviously I will have to look somewhere else. I have friends at all the unions and I would give a hundred per cent wherever I end up."
Touching lightly on the possibility of a reunion with Jaque Fourie, this time in provincial colours, De Villiers again speaks humbly about the semantics of his return.
"Hopefully it can still happen, but things are going really well for the Stormers at the moment and I could still find myself in a situation where I have to fight my way back into the team."
It's difficult to imagine a team in the world that de Villiers would struggle to make, but it speaks volumes for the man that despite all his achievements he still seems so focussed on self-improvement.
He will have plenty of time to sharpen his skills ahead of the global showpiece in 2011.
Between now and then he has the chance to take part in arguably the world's premier competitions; the Heineken Cup, the Currie Cup, the Super 14 and the Tri Nations.
Provided he stays injury free, he should feature heavily in all of them, arriving at the World Cup in New Zealand an even better player.
Taking full part in a World Cup campaign remains the only gap in de Villiers' Springbok CV, and although the decision would have been carefully made, he ultimately felt that the chance to be a part of the New Zealand campaign was too much to sacrifice.
"Taking it all into account, I spoke to the people who are close to me and give me advice on these matters such as my father, and they all said that if I let this opportunity go, in ten years time when I look back on my career it could be something I regret not doing."
Considering whether things might be different had he played more of a part in the Springboks' successful campaign in France, De Villiers is unsure that it would have had much bearing on his final decision.
"It's difficult to say right now, I can only say what emotions I am feeling at the moment. Possibly the decision would have been different, but then again having the opportunity to try make the World Cup squad and defending the title as world champions is a unique situation as well."
His move home was enabled by some frank discussions with Munster before he signed for them.
"I had structured my contract in a way that would allow me to go if the opportunity came my way," he told rugby365.com, adding: "From there I had to decide 'do I want to give the World Cup a shot or not?'. As soon as I started talking to Munster about the renewal of my contract they were asking me what I wanted to do. I decided I did want to give the World Cup a shot, so I went to SA Rugby to talk about what their policy would be for overseas-based players."
Whilst being a part of the Springbok squad is the ultimate draw for de Villiers, he does mention that he was hoping to be able to stay in Munster and still feature for the South Africa - but SARU's selection policy meant staying in Ireland would have severely crippled his chances of being on the plane to New Zealand.
"I asked them if they would be happy to follow my form through sending them tapes of my play, but they stuck to their policy. There might be a situation where they will select somebody from abroad, but for now that's their policy and I don't want to make it tough for myself by being over here and maybe waiting for a call up. If the circumstances were different, from a South African point of view, you never know, I probably would have stayed on. It's just unfortunately one of those things that South Africa has stuck to it's point of only selecting SA-based players - though I think it's a fair policy."
Despite all he has achieved in the Green and Gold, the midfielder remains grounded when he talks about what will happen once he returns home.
"Making this move doesn't mean I am definitely going to the World Cup. I still need to fight for my place and secure a spot because some of the guys are playing really well back home. But it's a great challenge and would be something fantastic to be part of."
While de Villiers' return to his homeland is a point of great discussion, he is keen to point out that he still has a job to do in Ireland before anything else.
"For now my focus is on ending the season on a high for Munster, then after that I will be looking towards South Africa and the World Cup."
The product of Paarl Gimnasium says that he has grown fond of his new team, and will be sad to leave at the end of the season.
"The toughest part of all of this was telling Munster that I am going. That's always difficult when you are enjoying your time wherever you are playing. I have loved every single minute of it, the whole experience has been fantastic for me and I have learned a hell of a lot. Being dropped at one stage and having to come back from that; those are the things you learn from. Those sort of things will help me not only in the rest of my rugby career but also in life - there will always be setbacks and it's how you handle those situations that counts."
Though he is reluctant to look too far into the future, de Villiers says he would not rule out a return to Munster once the World Cup is over.
"Ja, I've had such a great time here. It's a great set-up and great guys and I have made some fantastic new friends. But who knows. I'm definitely keeping the option open but I have learned in my career that you don't plan too far ahead because you never know what tomorrow may bring."
While he is still in Ireland, de Villiers says he is taking advantage of seeing and doing all the things the UK has to offer, and says he has not been put off by the cold weather.
"I must say it hasn't been as bad as I thought it would be. My fiancée and I came over with the attitude that the weather wont be like it is in South Africa and we have enjoyed the experience of living in a snowy place; it's unique and I probably wouldn't have had that opportunity if it wasn't for rugby. I also had my parents and my brother over for Christmas. We had Christmas in the snow as a family for the first time ever, and it's those things you remember - yes the rugby has been fantastic and already there have been so many enjoyable moments on the field with the team, but the experiences off the field you enjoy too."
Outside Britain, De Villiers has been exploring the European mainland when time permits.
"I think Irish clubs play less rugby than anyone else in Europe and definitely less than the southern hemisphere clubs, so there has been plenty of off time that has created the opportunity to travel. We've been to Spain, Portugal, London, Prague and Rome. We came over with the goal to travel around Europe and we have taken advantage of the opportunity and it's been absolutely awesome."
By Keith Moore