Rugby World Cup: Springboks captain Jean de Villiers ruled out of tournament

THE Springboks have suffered another major Rugby World Cup blow, with captain Jean de Villiers ruled out of the tournament with a broken jaw.

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THE Springboks have suffered another major Rugby World Cup blow, with captain Jean de Villiers ruled out of the tournament with a broken jaw.

South Africa confirmed on Sunday night (AEST) that X-rays had revealed that de Villiers had sustained the fracture in the 46-6 win over Samoa.

Jan Serfontein has been whistled into the squad as de Villiers’ replacement, while South Africa will confirm a new captain on Wednesday.

Victor Matfield is the logical replacement.

It is a cruel blow for de Villiers, who only just recovered from a broken jaw in time to be named in coach Heyneke Meyer’s squad.

“Jean is not only our captain and one of the most experienced players in the squad, but he is also the glue of this team and to lose him is very sad,” said Meyer.

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Springboks captain Jean de Villiers (centre) has been ruled out of the Rugby World Cup.

“After injuring his knee last November in Cardiff, he worked incredibly hard to get back to full fitness and the plans worked out perfectly, but rugby is a physical sport and injuries happen.

“We are all very heartbroken for him and we will miss his influence a lot. He has been very unlucky with injuries, but his character clearly showed when he had to go back on the field when Jesse Kriel picked up an injury.

“Jean has fought back from all his injuries and this is the kind of character and fighting spirit we will need to show going forward in this competition.

“While this is a huge and emotional setback for the team, we will now have to regroup and refocus before we start our preparations for Saturday’s match against Scotland.”

Springbok team doctor Craig Roberts said the fracture was on the opposite side of de Villiers’ jaw to the first injury sustained against Argentina in Durban in August.

“Jean took a heavy blow to the right side of his jaw in the 72nd minute of the match,” said Roberts.

“X-rays and scans after the game confirmed our fears that it was fractured. The left side of his jaw was fractured on the previous occasion. He will return to South Africa for further specialist treatment.

“Apart from Jean’s injury, there were a lot of bumps and bruises following a very physical match but we will reassess those in the next day or two.”

South Africa lost their opening match of the tournament in a shock loss to Japan.

Meanwhile, Matfield has slammed as “stupid” the Springboks fan that invaded Birmingham’s Villa Park during the win over Samoa.

The South Africa supporter attempted to join a ruck in the dying stages of the match before Samoan players threw him to the ground.

Referee Wayne Barnes repeatedly said “don’t be silly, don’t be silly,” as play stopped before security led the invader away.

“We are a proud nation... proud of what we stand for,” Matfield said.

“So it is always a pity when you see that; guys coming onto the field.

“You can’t blame all the fans — it’s one bloke who did a stupid thing. Normally our fans are fantastic... they stay off the pitch and support the team in the right way.”

Originally published as Rugby World Cup: Springboks captain Jean de Villiers ruled out of tournament