Young talent Paul de Villiers made the first of potentially many appearances for the Boks against England on Saturday.
BJ Dixon, Cameron Hanekom, Paul de Villiers and Zach Porthen celebrate after the Springboks beat England at Ellis Park over the weekend. Picture: Steve Haag – Nations Championship via Getty Images
It was a sudden call to arms for Springbok loose forward Paul de Villiers after he was thrown straight into the deep end and made his international debut in the Boks’ 45-21 Nations Championship win over England at Ellis Park at the weekend.
The 23-year-old De Villiers, who featured off the bench for the Boks in their non-Test clash against the Barbarians a few weeks ago, was not named in the original match 23 for the game early last week.
However, after captain Siya Kolisi failed a late fitness test on Saturday, having strained his hamstring during Friday’s captains run, De Villiers found himself launched straight into the starting XV to face the English.
Decent showing
It was a decent 45-minute showing for De Villiers, who was replaced early in the second half by Marco van Staden, and he explained that despite the late call he was ready to step up.
“They had a few fitness tests with Siya on Saturday morning, and that’s when I found out (I would be playing),” De Villiers said after the match.
“The do prepare us for this (late call up) as it does happen, so I was ready for it. Maybe not as much as the match 23, but I sort of had enough time to get my head around it and settle down. I think almost not having the full week to stress about it made it (his debut) a bit better.
“They (Kolisi’s) are massive shoes to fill. The team helped me a lot and they looked after me and then each other. They helped me settle in and make it a bit easier. They had my back at every turn.
“Siya (also) helped me a lot. He made me feel a bit calmer, but like I said, the whole squad backs you and makes you comfortable. It was awesome.”
Well prepared
Speaking about the experience of playing international rugby, De Villiers said he had been well prepared by the Springbok training sessions in the build-up to the match.
“It’s obviously fast, but you expect it, so that made it a bit easier. And the way we train in the week is almost at the same standard (as an international match),” explained De Villiers.
“So it was fast, the breakdown speed and the decision making has to be quick. I got pinned (in the ruck) the one time. So there are things I can work on and do better.”
Another player who was thrown in to the mix was fellow loose forward Cameron Hanekom, who had just one cap to his name and was promoted off the bench after Eben Etzebeth was also ruled out, which saw Pieter-Steph du Toit switch to lock for Hanekom to come in at seven.
De Villiers admitted that the two knew each other well, having come through the SA Rugby system together, and that it was good to play alongside each other again.
“Myself and Cammy (Hanekom) have come a long way. We played together at the Junior Boks. We attended two alignment camps, and we spent two or three weeks up here,” added De Villiers.
