With Kwagga Smith watching from the sidelines, 23-year-old Paul de Villiers has seized his opportunity in the green and gold. Photo: Backpagepix
Over the past few weekends, the injured Kwagga Smith has watched on, perhaps a little anxiously but most certainly proudly, as a new batch of youngsters have taken the field for the Springboks, including the irrepressible Paul de Villiers.
The 23-year-old has donned the No 6 jumper, fulfilling — to a degree — the role Smith would have performed over the last fortnight. De Villiers was called into the Bok team at the 11th hour against England at Ellis Park earlier this month, after the injury to captain Siya Kolisi, and had a solid outing. He was arguably better against Scotland at Loftus Versveld a week later.
In all, De Villiers — over 120 minutes of game time — has made one turnover, 13 carries, 23 tackles, gained 82m, made five passes and beaten four defenders. He will start against Wales on Saturday at Kings Park (kick-off 5:40 pm) for his third Test cap.
Smith, recuperating from a serious knee injury, believes the rise of De Villiers, and a handful of young players within the Boks' setup, is only a good thing for the team. Moreover, he suspects that the upcoming Castle Double Malt Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry against New Zealand, starting in August, will be the ultimate litmus test.
