De Villiers proud to lead "special" South Africa in #RWC15 opener

Tom Williams 11:59 19/09/2015
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  • Honour: De Villiers.

    South Africa captain Jean de Villiers says he is very proud to skipper a “special bunch of guys” into battle against Japan in their opening World Cup match on Saturday.

    The 34-year-old de Villiers, who has 107 caps despite a litany of injuries, is seeking a record third world title for the Springboks and make up for his personal disappointment at missing the 2007 title success when he was injured in the opening game.

    The centre, one of several survivors from eight years ago, goes into the game under pressure. His performance in South Africa’s defeat by Argentina in Durban in August was poor and he left the pitch with a broken jaw.

    However, De Villiers – who had only just returned from a serious knee injury he suffered last November – preferred to pay tribute to the team he is leading.

    “I am very proud to be the captain of a special bunch of guys. Not only are they special as players but they are also good people,” he said.

    “It is great to go into battle with guys you enjoy spending time with. All of the 31 players in the squad appreciate that not everyone is going to get a game at the World Cup but contribute nevertheless to the atmosphere.

    “I am very excited about the challenge, I know it will be a fierce challenge but it is all about being able to do the country proud when you put on the (Springbok) green jersey.”

    De Villiers, whose Test career got off to disastrous start when he suffered a serious knee injury minutes into his first appearance against France in November 2002, said the performance would count more than the final scoreline against a side that has not won a game at the World Cup since the 1991 edition.

    “We have been tweaking details since we got here, as the bulk of the work was done in South Africa as it always is before World Cups, but it would be foolish for me to publicise what they are,” said De Villiers.

    “We’re not going to put a score on it (the result on Saturday) but the first thing is to tick those boxes of the things we have been doing and need to repeat out on the pitch and reap the rewards of our work.”

    The statistics suggest Japan has little chance of bringing off the greatest upset in World Cup history but the ‘Brave Blossoms’ coach Eddie Jones is licking his lips at trying to pull it off.

    “It’s David vs Goliath,” he said. “They’ve got the greatest winning record in World Cup history, a massive physical team with experience.

    “We’ve got the least winning record at the World Cup, and we’re the smallest team in the World Cup. But for us, we have the most experienced Japanese team. It’s a great opportunity for us, we’re looking forward to it.”

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