Munster's De Villiers to make WC call
Thu, 21 Jan 2010 14:19
Scoring touch: Munster centre Jean de Villiers dots down.
Springbok and Munster centre Jean de Villiers has admitted that he will be making a decision regarding his future, and possible return to South Africa ahead of the 2011 World Cup, in the next month or so.
De Villiers, in an interview with the Irish Independent, explains how the competitive environment at the Magners League Champions has helped him to rediscover his best form and insists that, while there is a possibility he could return to South Africa at the end of the season, he is thoroughly enjoying his time in Ireland.
The lure of a possible World Cup opportunity could well be too much for De Villiers to resist. Having missed out on the last two showpiece events because of injury, 2011 could offer the former Stormers captain a chance to help the Springboks defence their World Champion status in New Zealand.
Asked about his future, and particularly a possible appearance in New Zealand, De Villiers admitted that it was something he would have to address but that right now, with a massive Heineken Cup clash with Northampton ahead this weekend, was not the right time.
"That's [the World Cup] obviously a thing that's coming up," he said to the Irish Independent.
"But for me if I start focusing on that now I would not be focusing on the right thing. For me it's focusing on this game, putting in a good performance, getting the result we want and then in the two weeks off I'll be making a decision."
Reflecting on his 'Irish experience' so far De Villiers says he has thoroughly enjoyed the challenge of making it at Munster.
Having had a tough start to his career in Ireland, the Springbok star was forced to work his way back into the Munster starting XV and is now, he believes, getting back to his best form.
"From a personal point of view, I started off slowly and I was obviously being dropped halfway through,” explained De Villiers.
“That was a turning point for me as well in the season.
"No one likes to get dropped. Thoughts go through your head and you think, 'have you made the right choice?'. You're angry at the coach, you're angry at your teammates, you're angry at yourself.
"You blame everybody else. But at the end of the day if you really sit down and think about it, it all points back to you again. It's the way that you approach it then. What your attitude is towards that and the team.
"And I think you learn from those experiences. I'm just happy to be back in the team and hopefully I can stay there, because the quality of the players we have is just fantastic. One bad game and you might find yourself out of the 22 again.
"I think it wasn't so much doing stuff wrong; maybe not doing what was expected of me. Those are the things that I worked at. Maybe carrying the ball more, being a bit more selfish at times, having a go myself when I do have the ball.
"When I arrived things didn't come naturally to me. You were thinking about what to do rather than it happening naturally. And I would say now I'm at a stage where it happens instinctively and that's the way I like to play."
Off the field De Villiers has been very happy with his experience as well - enjoying the small differences that come with playing your rugby in the Northern Hemisphere.
"My experience here has been fantastic and I've enjoyed every moment,
"It has been all I expected. I got a white Christmas, I get soup after training. Warm soup. It's been fantastic."
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