Munster drop Bok centre
11 Dec 2009
Jean de Villiers has been axed for Munster’s European Cup match against Perpignan on Friday.
According to the Irish Independent, De Villiers’s midfield partnership with New Zealander Lifeimi Mafi has failed to gel over the course of five Celtic League and two European Cup matches, with Munster losing four of those seven games. De Villiers, however, has been playing out of position at No 13 in order to accomodate Mafi at 12.
The Bok centre, who is on a contract reputed to be worth around €300,000, has been replaced by Ireland international Keith Earls.
In some good news for South African rugby, Wian du Preez will make his European Cup debut for Munster at loosehead prop in the absence of Marcus Horan. The Cheetahs prop has just begun a two-month loan deal with the Irish club.
244 Comments
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11 Dec 2009, 08:15 am
Interesting. He hasn’t been in the best form lately.
11 Dec 2009, 08:18 am
@WP Till I Die: his worshipers will never admit to that though…
11 Dec 2009, 08:22 am
Ireland have 4 x Bok gems….BJ,CJ, Wiaan and JDV….
Pisses me off!!!!!!!
11 Dec 2009, 08:25 am
JdV played at Outside Centre at Munster
With O’Gara at No.10 and that PI Lifeimi Mafi (he is from Samoa, not from NZ) at No.12, De Villiers has been in a no win situation. I watched 4 of Munster’s matches lately so I am pretty adamant about it.
Since there was no attempt to play Earl at 13 and JdV at 12 it makes me thinking there’s something fishy there.
De Villiers would have been better off playing for Brendon Venter at Saris
11 Dec 2009, 08:32 am
Mafi is Tongan-born but NZ-raised and played for NZ U19 as well as provincial rugby for Manawatu and Taranaki.
11 Dec 2009, 08:35 am
@Hondo: there are no prejudiced south african s14 coaches there who are in awe of his reputation, if he is kak he gets dropped, finish & klaar.
11 Dec 2009, 08:37 am
Ja, Jean has been a bit off form. But that was caused by Adi, and now its being caused by Mafi. See the common denominator here Hondo?
11 Dec 2009, 08:38 am
Good. He’ll definately come home when his contract ends in Feb then.
Fantastic news. Stupid Irish. They dont have anyone better
11 Dec 2009, 08:38 am
Maybe they should sign Adi if they think he is kak,
he is after all the best center in SA…JDV would be very very welcome at the sharks.
11 Dec 2009, 08:40 am
Mafi is a great centre in my opinion. Great playmaker. I’ll be suprised if Jean couldnt form a decent combonation with him
11 Dec 2009, 08:42 am
Bunce, Jean would rather retire and play jukskei than play for the sardines.
11 Dec 2009, 08:42 am
@Slappes:
U nt the smartest of people,How was that caused by Adi,When Jean played most of the year with Fourie?
11 Dec 2009, 08:44 am
I got a bite.
11 Dec 2009, 08:45 am
They’ve been playing JdV out of position and have a never-heard-of in side him… what do they expect…
still… you’d think they would make a plan and move him to 12 and drop the never-heard-of…
but hey… Jean’s get’s his pay check whther he’s on the bench or not… plus it keeps him fresh… plus he’ll be keen toget back to SA and play rugby…
but do agree… he hasn’t been at the top of his game…
11 Dec 2009, 08:50 am
@Slappes: @ post 7… classic slappes!
11 Dec 2009, 08:56 am
Come home Jean!!
There will always be a place for you at Province.
The rest will do him good and he will be fresh for the Tri Nations (and the last part of the Super 14…)
11 Dec 2009, 08:57 am
My take on this is that Jean needs to stay there and fight for his place.
They are paying him a fortune to play for them and he needs to deliver, like any highly paid professional in any career is expected to do.
I don’t like this idea that he must just come rushing back home because things didn’t pan out the way he hoped, that’s just chicken **** mercenary behaviour.
Make your mark, preserve your legacy (if ever you had one) then come back to sunny SA with your head held high.
11 Dec 2009, 08:58 am
@Slappes: lmao…killer!
11 Dec 2009, 08:58 am
#12 In and out of the team and not playing consistently.
#11 Maybe he is tired of entertaining the crowds at Newlands and wants to play winning rugby and win some trophies with the sharks.
11 Dec 2009, 09:00 am
What trophies do the Sharks have?
11 Dec 2009, 09:01 am
Let him rest on the bench, he needs a break.
11 Dec 2009, 09:08 am
WPTID, the choking trophies.
11 Dec 2009, 09:09 am
@WP Till I Die: guys forgive bunce, he is a sharks fan: a lot of hot air and little substance.
11 Dec 2009, 09:11 am
Lets not talk about the past…its so last year.
11 Dec 2009, 09:12 am
We have just signed Ludik and the other Tvl guy and they will be bringing their winning culture to Durban…
11 Dec 2009, 09:14 am
Transformation, Hey daar is n skietstilstand tussen die WP en die goudvissies.
11 Dec 2009, 09:18 am
@WP Till I Die:
Mind you, WP also does not have any trophies.
At least the William Webb Ellis and the Tri-Nations trophies are sitting at Newlands…
11 Dec 2009, 09:25 am
Jean will be back in February. Yay
11 Dec 2009, 09:27 am
@bunce: there you go: point made…”winning culture” from the golden lions?
11 Dec 2009, 09:31 am
WPTID, ja and Percy (WP) won us the wc, and Morne Steyn ( Bellville) won us the 3N. Thus its WPs trophies by default.
11 Dec 2009, 09:32 am
Jean do you want to play for the Sharks? Give Plum a call. You would always start at the Sharks
No use only getting a big pay cheque. You get dropped then no rugby played. Will lose even more form by doing that. Come home Jean we need you for the world cup.
11 Dec 2009, 09:37 am
#29 Some friday humour. Thats the only worry about getting a province player, they aren’t used to winning, thankfully Jean gets his winning fix from the boks.
11 Dec 2009, 09:38 am
@Pearl Rose: LOL! It must be a new experience for Jean. Hahahaha. Here in SA captaincy (WP)and starting positions get handed to him easy. No work needed, no matter how bad he is playing.
11 Dec 2009, 09:43 am
A one leggered, hung over, out of form JDV is better than PDV’s favourite son Adi.
11 Dec 2009, 09:44 am
Tug o war coming for Jeans services …..wonder if WP have any options?
If not i reckon he would be an ideal Sharks target…
11 Dec 2009, 09:47 am
Grant, dont get the sharkies hopes up. btw how was the champers?
11 Dec 2009, 09:48 am
@grant10: When is he due home Grant? If he was to be coming home in Feb that would be ideal for the Sharks.
Though think Jean is a WP/Stormer player and once back here that is where he will return too. Imagine him playing with JF at the Stormers? Phew!! Would be awesome.
11 Dec 2009, 09:51 am
@Slappes: Cool my man….late nite and head thumping ….but its all good!
@Puma: I think he signed a 10 month contract….so doubt he would be back in time for Super 14……
Lions will also be watching the position with interest i am sure.
11 Dec 2009, 09:51 am
Earls for JDV? That’s only gonna make it worse
11 Dec 2009, 09:52 am
@Puma: And Habana!
11 Dec 2009, 09:53 am
He needs a change of scenery and a winning culture after Munster and WP. The Sharks are seriously thin on decent centers.
11 Dec 2009, 09:53 am
screw the irish jean. go back to province and continue ur partneship with soon to be stormer fourie
11 Dec 2009, 09:57 am
Grant, you definetly still drunk- Jean a shark? Nah bru Jean wouldnt play behind a pack doing turbo reverse.
11 Dec 2009, 10:00 am
JdV will only return to Problems if he returns. His contract at Munster goes beyond the S14, anyways.
I see Weepee fans are really desperate for a trophy. Been a while, hasn’t it? And it’s gonna be another lean year next year, Habana or not…
11 Dec 2009, 10:00 am
@bunce: What will the Sharks do with JDV, play him as fullback?
11 Dec 2009, 10:02 am
it is obvious what is going on here…
Jean has made it clear that he will not extend his contract till after Feb and would return to play for the Stormers in the Super 14 and now Munster just want to see what they have in back up when he leaves.
No team with JDV in it will keep him out the starting 15, maybe only PDV but he is a bread, reckons Adi is the best center in SA, yeah right!
11 Dec 2009, 10:03 am
@grant10: Yes of course forgot about Habs.
11 Dec 2009, 10:03 am
@Slappes: LOL….yeah….that may be a problem !!
I reckon JDV will look at all those offers though….not cut and dried that he will automatically come to WP….hope so though…..
Even better he brings CJ with him as well!
11 Dec 2009, 10:04 am
@who cares: At inside centre of course.
11 Dec 2009, 10:05 am
Just to clear it up, he had been playing 12 poorly so they moved him to 13 to see if he would get any better, he didn’t.
He doesn’t have any of the attributes of a top modern inside centre, his passing is generally poor both in timing and execution off both hands, his kicking is almost non-existent, and his defence is porous.
The only thing he was ever good at were line-breaks and intercepts but they have mostly gone too and probably made for a better wing anyway. Maybe he was good for the Stormers at CC and S14 level at 12 but imo (and this isn’t a dig!) a lot of WP players are very overhyped, they even wanted him as Bok captain at one point…can you imagine. Now he’s on Munster’s bench.
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