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Cape Town - The Stormers are wary of Springbok JP Pietersen's abilities ahead of their Super Rugby clash at Newlands on Saturday night.
Pietersen will again be at outside centre for the visitors and De Villiers believes being more involved in the game could make him dangerous.
"JP is one of the most underrated players in South Africa. It's always sad to see him get written off when he plays for South Africa. His abilities are often questioned," De Villiers told Die Burger.
"Even at centre, a position he's not used to, he is looking good. He is a huge threat."
Pietersen will play alongside Meyer Bosman in midfield, which means that four Springboks will take each other on in midfield.
The Stormers look like they might have the edge there, with De Villiers and Juan de Jongh both being centres at last year's World Cup. Pietersen was good at wing during that tournament, while Bosman played the last of his three Tests in July 2006 against Australia.
The clash at Newlands kicks off at 19:10 on Saturday.
Teams:
Stormers:
15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Jean de Villiers (captain), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Gary van Aswegen, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Nick Koster, 7 Duane Vermeulen, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Frans Malherbe, 18 De Kock Steenkamp, 19 Nizaam Carr, 20 Louis Schrueder, 21 Peter Grant, 22 Gerhard van den Heever
Sharks:
15 Riaan Viljoen, 14 Louis Ludik, 13 JP Pietersen, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Patrick Lambie, 9 Frederic Michalak, 8 Keegan Daniel (captain), 7 Marcell Coetzee, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Ross Skeate, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Dale Chadwick
Substitutes: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Jannie du Plessis, 18 Anton Bresler, 19 Lubabalo Mtembu, 20 Charl McLeod, 21 Marius Joubert, 22 Paul Jordaan
Pietersen will again be at outside centre for the visitors and De Villiers believes being more involved in the game could make him dangerous.
"JP is one of the most underrated players in South Africa. It's always sad to see him get written off when he plays for South Africa. His abilities are often questioned," De Villiers told Die Burger.
"Even at centre, a position he's not used to, he is looking good. He is a huge threat."
Pietersen will play alongside Meyer Bosman in midfield, which means that four Springboks will take each other on in midfield.
The Stormers look like they might have the edge there, with De Villiers and Juan de Jongh both being centres at last year's World Cup. Pietersen was good at wing during that tournament, while Bosman played the last of his three Tests in July 2006 against Australia.
The clash at Newlands kicks off at 19:10 on Saturday.
Teams:
Stormers:
15 Joe Pietersen, 14 Gio Aplon, 13 Juan de Jongh, 12 Jean de Villiers (captain), 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Gary van Aswegen, 9 Dewaldt Duvenage, 8 Nick Koster, 7 Duane Vermeulen, 6 Siya Kolisi, 5 Andries Bekker, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Brok Harris, 2 Tiaan Liebenberg, 1 Steven Kitshoff
Substitutes: 16 Scarra Ntubeni, 17 Frans Malherbe, 18 De Kock Steenkamp, 19 Nizaam Carr, 20 Louis Schrueder, 21 Peter Grant, 22 Gerhard van den Heever
Sharks:
15 Riaan Viljoen, 14 Louis Ludik, 13 JP Pietersen, 12 Meyer Bosman, 11 Lwazi Mvovo, 10 Patrick Lambie, 9 Frederic Michalak, 8 Keegan Daniel (captain), 7 Marcell Coetzee, 6 Jacques Botes, 5 Ross Skeate, 4 Steven Sykes, 3 Wiehahn Herbst, 2 Bismarck du Plessis, 1 Dale Chadwick
Substitutes: 16 Craig Burden, 17 Jannie du Plessis, 18 Anton Bresler, 19 Lubabalo Mtembu, 20 Charl McLeod, 21 Marius Joubert, 22 Paul Jordaan
