Transformed De Villiers ready to make his mark

EARLY October 2009, Munster had just been hockeyed 30-0 by bitter rivals Leinster. Jean de Villiers, their high-profile high-cost South African signing, had had a nightmare as himself and centre partner Lifeimi Mafi got thoroughly outplayed by the D’Arcy/O’Driscoll pairing.

It wasn’t de Villiers’ first poor match since joining Munster and shortly afterwards the unthinkable happened, he was dropped for a vital Heineken Cup game against Perpignan.

Legend has it that he was approached by a teammate who asked: “Tell me, do you have a twin who plays with the Springboks?”