Bok skipper on a crash-course?
Springbok captain Jean de Villiers found some of the form of his career this year, but how long until he breaks down?
The experienced midfielder played almost non-stop this year, with his commitments to the Stormers, Springboks, Western Province and the Barbarians keeping him busy throughout.
He will get a hard-earned break until the end of the year before it starts all over again, but he turns 33 in February and it may be a big ask for him to go through the same work load in 2014.
He told this website that he does not expect to be given any breaks next season, and highlighted the need to get a good pre-season under his belt in order to handle everything that will be thrown at him.
"I have got a contract with the Stormers, when I am needed I will play. To be really honest I have not thought too much about next year and what is lying ahead I am just looking forward to having a break.
"It is important for me to have a good pre-season and put in the hard work, that is definitely where my season started last year, throughout the season I could feel that I was in a good space.
"It is important to get that base again and build from there, if you start off from a bad base then it is troublesome throughout the year.
"If you condition yourself well then your chances of injuries are less but then there are always the broken bones which you can't plan for, that's rugby and hopefully we can just stay away from that," he said.
De Villiers admitted that he was happy with his performances this year and joked that he was looking into getting a contract in Europe this month to capitalise on his good form.
"It has gone well this year, to say it was my best well that is debatable but I am feeling good.
"I have always said that it doesn't matter what I am weighing or how fast I am running, if I'm feeling good and fresh on the field then I feel that I am performing and I certainly felt like that this year.
"I was looking at maybe getting a deal in Europe and playing over December and January as well so that this season never ends," he quipped.
It remains to be seen whether he will be able to keep that form up through another busy year, which is why he is not allowing himself to think about going to the World Cup in 2015.
"I will go through this year and if I am still good enough after this year then I will definitely be available for that.
"Two years ago at the end of the 2011 World Cup I didn't even think about giving it a go, whereas now halfway through it you are looking at about 18 months to the next World Cup.
"It is much more of a reality and maybe the flame of wanting to be there is burning a bit more but we will take it on a year to year basis," he said.
Bok coach Heyneke Meyer has already indicated that he wants De Villiers to continue as captain next year, but how much longer will he be able to stay on top of his game considering his heavy work load?
By Michael de Vries
