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Bloemfontein – Jean de Villiers’s move to Irish side Munster appears to be going pear-shaped.
In a shock decision on Thursday, De Villiers was omitted from Munster’s starting line-up for Friday’s Heineken Cup match against Perpignan in Limerick.
According to the Irish Independent, Munster contracted De Villiers for around € 300 000.00 for the season. However, on Thursday he surprisingly had to make way for Keith Earls, who is viewed as Brian O’Driscoll’s understudy in the Irish national team.
Munster’s decision comes as a surprise as De Villiers was the only Bok backline player to impress in the recent match against Ireland at Croke Park.
De Villiers also excelled in South Africa’s Tri-Nations triumph and the series win over the British and Irish Lions.
However, there is concern about how De Villiers is combining with New Zealand centre partner Lifeimi Mafi.
Earls and Mafi played well for Munster last season and experts believe they deserve another chance after De Villiers played seven games.
The Irish Independent states that De Villiers is not making the impact Munster had hoped for as they could only win three of the seven games in which he played. De Villiers will be on the bench on Friday.
While De Villiers is not viewed as good enough, three Bok props – CJ van der Linde, Wian du Preez and BJ Botha – will anchor the scrums of Irish teams in the weekend’s important Heineken Cup matches.
Du Preez will pack down for Munster against Perpignan’s French prop Nicolas Mas at Thomond Park.
Van der Linde has been included in Leinster’s squad for Saturday’s match against the Scarlets. Van der Linde said in an interview with the Irish Times that he had not decided on his availability for the Springboks for the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand.
Botha has recovered from an injury he sustained in the Boks’ Test against Ireland and is in Ulster’s squad for Saturday’s match against Stade Francais.
Bloemfontein – Jean de Villiers’s move to Irish side Munster appears to be going pear-shaped.
In a shock decision on Thursday, De Villiers was omitted from Munster’s starting line-up for Friday’s Heineken Cup match against Perpignan in Limerick.
According to the Irish Independent, Munster contracted De Villiers for around € 300 000.00 for the season. However, on Thursday he surprisingly had to make way for Keith Earls, who is viewed as Brian O’Driscoll’s understudy in the Irish national team.
Munster’s decision comes as a surprise as De Villiers was the only Bok backline player to impress in the recent match against Ireland at Croke Park.
De Villiers also excelled in South Africa’s Tri-Nations triumph and the series win over the British and Irish Lions.
However, there is concern about how De Villiers is combining with New Zealand centre partner Lifeimi Mafi.
Earls and Mafi played well for Munster last season and experts believe they deserve another chance after De Villiers played seven games.
The Irish Independent states that De Villiers is not making the impact Munster had hoped for as they could only win three of the seven games in which he played. De Villiers will be on the bench on Friday.
While De Villiers is not viewed as good enough, three Bok props – CJ van der Linde, Wian du Preez and BJ Botha – will anchor the scrums of Irish teams in the weekend’s important Heineken Cup matches.
Du Preez will pack down for Munster against Perpignan’s French prop Nicolas Mas at Thomond Park.
Van der Linde has been included in Leinster’s squad for Saturday’s match against the Scarlets. Van der Linde said in an interview with the Irish Times that he had not decided on his availability for the Springboks for the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand.
Botha has recovered from an injury he sustained in the Boks’ Test against Ireland and is in Ulster’s squad for Saturday’s match against Stade Francais.
