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Mixed emotions De Villiers line up for France against Springboks
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) -- French prop Pieter de Villiers admits he will have to cope with a bundle of conflicting emotions when he runs out for his adoptive France to play South Africa in Johannesburg on Saturday. De Villiers, 28, was born and raised in South Africa until leaving for Europe six years ago. He will be winning his 17th cap at Ellis Park, but it will be the first time he has played against the Springboks. He does not expect to it to be a straightforward experience. "As a child, my goal was always to play for South Africa one day -- that was my motivation all along," de Villiers said as the squad continued their preparations for the two-test series in Cape Town on Wednesday. "But things have developed in a different way and there are no regrets either. "It will surely be a day packed with emotion for me, coming back to my home where I haven't played a game of rugby in six years and especially playing against the 'Boks. "The moment when the two national anthems are played I'll be thinking of everyone that's had an influence on my rugby career -- family, coaches, players -- it will be a emotional time, I'm sure." Although de Villiers could be accused of playing the mercenary card in a bid to play international rugby, the mild mannered front row man has no problem admitting there is a huge part of him that will always remain South African. "I don't think I'll ever lose my South African roots. I lived here for 22 years and I think it's pretty much ingrained," he added. "But on the other hand I have been living in France for six years and I've made the decision that I'm going to try and make it to the highest level there, so there's no conflict there. "I'm playing for France and I'm giving my best for France. But my South African roots are quite deep," he said. In fact, de Villiers' decision to try his luck in France was based to a large degree on his desire to improve as a prop forward and be good enough to play for South Africa. Other South Africans playing in his position, including Ballie Swart, Keith Andrews and Guy Kebble, all made the pilgrimage north to test their mettle in the front rows of France, and de Villiers was no different. Rugby talent In 1995 he was a fixture in the Stellenbosch University first team, one of the traditional hothouses of South African rugby talent. De Villiers was spotted by officials from Parisien club Stade Francais and before too long, his passport was stamped for France. His quest for self-improvement, however, was matched by a spirit of adventure and a desire to explore the world beyond South Africa's historically stifling borders. "At university I had been thinking for some time about spending some time in France because it's got a great reputation as a learning school for props," he said. "I wanted to get out of South Africa which was closed throughout the apartheid years and see what happened in the real world. My plan was to stay for a year or two and then come back, but it's been a bit longer than that now. De Villiers now speaks English with a peculiar hybrid of Afrikaans and French accents but seems entirely at home amongst his teammates. And their task on Saturday is enormous. After a poor Six Nations campaign in which it lost three games, France has just four days of training in Cape Town before flying to Johannesburg on Friday. "I think the pressure will be more on South Africa as they are definitely the favorites and that might be good for us," added De Villiers.
Copyright 2003 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved.
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