Carter: De Villiers a true gentleman

Cape Town - All Black flyhalf Dan Carter has heaped praise on Jean de Villiers, after the Springbok captain retired from Test rugby.

The Bok midfielder was forced out of the Rugby World Cup after sustaining a fractured jaw in South Africa's 46-6 win over Samoa in Birmingham at the weekend.

It prompted De Villiers to announce his retirement from the international game on Sunday.

Carter, the All Blacks' flyhalf at the tournament, had kind words for De Villliers after hearing of his retirement.

The 107-Test capped All Black shared the following via his Instagram account on Monday:

A true gentleman of the game. Honored to have played against this legend. #Repost @worldrugby with @repostapp ··· After 109 tests, 37 as captain, 27 tries & countless memorable moments Jean de Villiers retires from @bokrugby. Thank you Jean, international rugby will miss you. ?????? #JDV #Springboks #Rugby #RWC2015

A photo posted by Dan Carter (@dancarter_) on Sep 28, 2015 at 7:18am PDT

The 34-year-old De Villiers retired as the second most capped Springbok captain of all time, and is currently the fourth most capped player in the history of South African Test rugby.