‘This is the reason I’m here’
Top of his wish list is to help Munster to their third Heineken Cup title by powering past Biarritz in this weekend’s semi-final, and then to beat either Toulouse or arch-rivals Leinster in the final. De Villiers has also set his sights on helping his team retain the Magners League.
In a show of determination, in keeping with his high status in world rugby, de Villiers said: “Winning both the Heineken Cup and Magners League would be the perfect departure script, but that’s looking too far ahead. At the moment the only thing I’m focusing on is Sunday. Once you start planning too far ahead you tend to get lost and this is the time of the year when you can only focus on one game at a time.
“It’s time to put a good performance together and then move on to the next challenge because nobody wants to leave a challenge behind them. This weekend is part of the reason I came to Ireland and to Munster. I came and chose a team like Munster because they were successful in the past and I believed they had the credentials to remain successful in the present and into the future.
“If we don’t win the Heineken Cup, the year will not be a success for us and I think that will also be viewed as such by the public. The result this weekend means everything to us.”
Although he regrets having played his last game at Thomond Park in last week’s 15-11 loss to the Ospreys, de Villiers believes in Munster’s ability to create history on foreign soil, recognising the team’s best performance of the season was arguably in the away Heineken Cup fixture against Perpignan.
He had no hesitation in lauding the Red Army and hailed the influence they have: “In my experience, the Munster supporters are probably the best in world rugby. This weekend we’re playing an away game and so they (Biarritz) will probably have more of the support there, but we’re assured there will be a huge crowd of our people there too. That’s great.
“Playing away matches with Munster is certainly a different experience from what I was used to in the Super 14. The Perpignan game and the atmosphere these people generated was memorable, unbelievable. In South Africa, when I travelled, there was nothing like the same level of support.
“Even though crowds don’t win games, it certainly helps to know you’re not on your own when it gets tough on the pitch. There are several examples I could give from this season to prove the Munster fans are really very special.”
Having to travel to San Sebastian without skipper Paul O’Connell is a blow but it’s not an insurmountable problem, according to de Villiers, who admitted: “There will be extra responsibility on several individuals now that Paul has been ruled out. There is no doubt that it places more of an onus on the senior players; he has been a fantastic player and a fantastic captain who lifts the team by as much as 15% above what you would expect.
“This team has enough experience to get over a blow like this. I know Paulie didn’t play for much of the 2008 tournament and they (the team) managed to get throughout without him then, so hopefully we can do the same now. We must believe that we can win the game. If we don’t then there would probably be no point in travelling.
“Nobody is irreplaceable and Mick (O’Driscoll) has been fantastic these last few weeks, both in his playing ability and his organisational skills.
“He has been doing a marvellous job and there will be no doubts or worries about what he will bring to the team.”
In the same context, de Villiers believes Biarritz will recover from the loss of centre Damien Traille, their midfield organiser. “Like Paul, he will be a loss because he is such a top class player. I have played against him at international level and, believe me, he is quality. But I don’t think Biarritz will greatly alter their game plan as a result of losing him. They have a defensive structure in place that will likely stay the same no matter who replaces him. It’s up to us to find ways through or around them.”
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