Jean de Villiers urges Munster to keep emotions in check
EMOTIONS: Former Munster player Jean de Villiers has urged the province to keep their emotions in check if they are to end their 12-year trophy wait on Saturday. Pic: David Rogers/Getty Images
As a long-suffering Stormers player, Jean de Villiers knows all too well the pain of long service and no silverware with his hometown province but he has urged Munster to keep their emotions in check if they are to end their 12-year trophy wait on Saturday.
The former South Africa centre who won a World Cup with the Springboks in 2007 did not enjoy the same experiences with the Cape Town-based Stormers, having lost Super Rugby semi-finals in 2011 and 2012. His one-season spell with Munster in 2009-10 came after the Irish province had hit the Heineken Cup heights and much like many in Graham Rowntree’s current squad in recent years, his campaign ended with twin semi-final defeats, to Biarritz in a European semi-final, and to Leinster in the Magners League.
So asking the 42-year-old for his experience of what it takes to finally get over the line was perhaps misguided on the part of the Irish Examiner, though the response was nonetheless of great interest.
“In my case it kind of continued with coming up short playing for Western Province and the Stormers so I’m probably the wrong person to ask!” de Villiers said during a BKT URC media call this week ahead of Saturday’s Grand Final at DHL Stadium.
“I suppose like anything in life, you need to analyse the situation, you need to prepare well and then you need to execute well. So yes, there will be emotion in all of this and sometimes you can be caught in the emotion in that you’ve been there so many times before.
“You haven’t been able to get it over the line and then you start thinking about that and why then? Why didn’t it happen for me? And you get emotional about it.
“Unfortunately emotion doesn’t win you anything. Emotion will play a part on the weekend and get you fired up but it’s about the execution on the day, that’s the important thing.
“The one element is the preparation and being able to analyse the opposition and the way you’ve been playing and then formulating a game plan but even more important is the execution on the day.
“You need to be up for it, you need to be at your very best and if you do that then you’ve got a massive shot to be able to win it.
“Sometimes the reality is also that you play your best game but the opposition plays their best game as well and actually win. Then you say ‘well, we gave it our all, we were beaten by a better team.
“So it’s one of those things that no-one can really put their finger on it. All you can do as a player is try and prepare for what’s possible and then when the opportunity comes on Saturday, you need to execute and make sure that you don’t leave any stone unturned.”
The former Springbok centurion considers himself fortunate to have played for both teams in this Saturday’s decider and based on Munster’s recent strong form on the road, not least their league victory over the Stormers in Cape Town last month, he is eagerly awaiting their showdown with the defending URC champions.
“I’ve never gone into a game the way that I feel this time around, where I think it’s a win-win for me. Even though I spent most of my career playing for the Stormers, the season I had with Munster was one that I rate very high in terms of my career. I really do have a passion for Munster,” de Villiers said.
“They have actually been the form team for me, towards the end of the URC.
“If you look at the way that they got absolutely blown off the park in Durban in the Heineken Cup game, then they came back to South Africa. They beat the Stormers in Cape Town, they drew with the Sharks in Durban and obviously beat Glasgow and Leinster in the quarter and semi-final.
“So, they have been on a run where I think from a mental point of view, they are in a place where they must feel extremely strong and extremely positive.
“And that is worth gold. If you’re going into a final, away from home, but you have proven in the last couple of weeks that you can do it.
“There is a difference between thinking you can win a game and knowing you can win a game because you have done it before on different territory.
“And I think that is the attitude Munster will have going into this game. The fact that they have all of those players back is great.
“It’s quite a difficult position for Graham Rowntree to be in because which combinations does he go with? You just look at the 10-12 combination that played last time and how well that worked for them eventually.
“But with Malakai Fekitoa coming in, do you start him? And so many other things as well.
“So, I think Munster have got so much going for them and the fact that they have done it before here in South Africa will give them massive, massive confidence going into this game.
“It’s about being able to replicate that again and also knowing that the team on the other side wants to rectify the mistakes they made in the previous game.
“All of that just sets us up for a fantastic final.”
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