Boks wary of De Villiers factor ahead of World Cup opener
SPOTLIGHT: The Springboks will be out to nullify Scotland’s dangerous backline in their World Cup opener, but they are also aware that it all starts with the forward battle.
With Finn Russell as their playmaker and outside backs in the form of Duhan van der Merwe, Huw Jones and Kyle Steyn, Scotland will be one of the more exciting teams to watch at the World Cup.
However, for the backline to be effective they will need quality ball and that is where the pack comes in.
One man who is helping them achieve their goals up front is their South African-born coach, Pieter de Villiers.
De Villiers originally joined the Scottish set-up in 2020 in the role of scrum coach and earlier this year he extended his contract with the national team up until April 2026.
The 51-year-old, who was born in Malmesbury, was a powerhouse prop for France between 1999 and 2007 and he also featured in two World Cups. With his knowledge of the game, it came as no surprise when he went into coaching after retiring.
The former prop was also in the Bok coaching set-up between 2012 and 2015.
Springbok head coach Jacques Nienaber knows that De Villiers has played an integral role in Scotland’s evolution in the last few seasons.
“If you look at Scotland, they are quite a fit team and that is why they can get stuck in and play their game,” Nienaber told reporters on Friday as the Bok squad prepares to shift their base from Corsica to Toulon.
“It’s a game which they are very comfortable with even until the 85th minute. That is one of their strengths.
“We all know Pieter de Villiers. They got good set-pieces to help them get the amount of ball to play with and to run the ball quite wide.
Nienaber added: “You obviously need good solid set-pieces and they do get it.”
Meanwhile, Nienaber confirmed that the players on the standby list for the World Cup are back with clubs and franchises.
Two of the more high-profile players on that list are flyhalf Handre Pollard and centre Lukhanyo Am, who were both not considered for the World Cup squad because of injuries
For Nienaber, he is just hoping they can get some sort of match readiness with their respective teams in case there are some injuries in the Bok camp in the coming weeks.
“We have seen in previous competitions that a player that is 70 percent ready is not better than a player that is 100 percent ready,” the Bok coach explained.
“In terms of the players that are injured, they are back with their clubs and hopefully that can be match-ready as soon as possible, so when there is an injury, we can just bring them in.”
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