Feebearing - Cape Town - 150929 - Former Bok Captain Jean de Villiers returns from the U.K. to his family and supporters at Cape Town International Airport after he injured his jaw again in Saturday's Rugby World Cup game versus Samoa. Pictured: Jean and his daughter Layli with an image of Former President Nelson Mandela and then Bok Captain Francois Pienaar at the Rudby World Cup 1995. REPORTER: VIWE NDONGENI. PICTURE: WILLEM LAW Feebearing - Cape Town - 150929 - Former Bok Captain Jean de Villiers returns from the U.K. to his family and supporters at Cape Town International Airport after he injured his jaw again in Saturday's Rugby World Cup game versus Samoa. Pictured: Jean and his daughter Layli with an image of Former President Nelson Mandela and then Bok Captain Francois Pienaar at the Rudby World Cup 1995. REPORTER: VIWE NDONGENI. PICTURE: WILLEM LAW
John Goliath
THE sounds of Nkosi Sikelel’ iAfrika and “We love you Jean, we do” rang out in the Cape Town International Airport arrivals hall yesterday when injured Springbok captain Jean de Villiers touched down.
Loud cheers from about 30 pupils from De Villiers’s former high school, Paarl Gimnasium, and a few fans dressed in Springbok jerseys welcomed him as he walked through the electronic doors.
De Villiers smiled, picked up one of his daughters and greeted his wife Marlie and father André before walking towards the schoolchildren and handing out a few high-fives.
This was the culmination of a few emotionally draining days for the Springbok captain after the broken jaw he suffered against Samoa on Saturday brought a premature end to his World Cup campaign. It’s the fourth time an injury has brought an early end to his participation at the global showpiece.
The injury also brought down the curtain on his international career, which spanned 13 years and 109 Tests.
But De Villiers’s bad luck could be a good omen for the Boks, as he so gleefully pointed out yesterday.
“The last time I got injured against Samoa in a World Cup and had to fly back home, something special happened. Hopefully that can happen again,” said De Villiers, referring to the Springboks’ 2007 World Cup triumph.
“In 1995, Chester Williams scored four tries against Samoa at the World Cup. In 2007, Bryan Habana scored three tries against Samoa and JP Pietersen scored three against Samoa on Saturday. So there are definitely signs coming through!”
De Villiers worked hard to overcome a serious knee injury and a fractured jaw to make the World Cup squad. But he knew he had played his last game for the Boks when he left the field after a collision with one of the Samoans. Schalk Burger and Jesse Kriel said afterwards they actually heard his jaw “klap”.
john.goliath@inl.co.za
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