Who is Jean de Villiers? Age, wife, knee injury, school, weight, profiles
Rugby is perhaps one of the most entertaining yet ruthless games in sports history. The players go head to head with their opponents, and some sustain injuries. However, one former rugby player who always gave fans a thrilling experience despite an appalling injury record is Jean de Villiers. He was a beast, and thanks to his skills, he has many supporters to date despite retiring.
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Jean de Villiers is a South African former professional rugby union player. He stole many hearts with his unmatched tricks and swift speed on the field. He previously played for several famous SA teams and remained a rugby legend. Read on to know more about him here!
Jean de Villiers’s profile summary
- Nickname: Kasper
- Date of birth: February 24 1981
- Place of birth: Paarl, South Africa
- Zodiac sign: Pisces
- Jean de Villiers’s age: 40 years in 2021
- Jean de Villiers’s school profile: Stellenbosch University
- Profession: Retired Professional Rugby Player
- Major teams: Barbarians, Munster, Leicester Tigers, Western Province, Stormers, South Africa
- Position: Centre
- Jean de Villiers’s height: 6 ft 3 in (1.90 m)
- Jean de Villiers’s weight: 220 lb
- Nationality: South African
- Jean de Villiers’s parents: Louise and Andre de Villiers
- Brother: Andre-Louis de Villiers
- Wife: Marlie
- Jean de Villiers’s children: Luca, Layli, and Lana
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Jean de Villiers’s bio
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On February 24 1981, the star was born in Paarl, South Africa, to Louise and Andre de Villiers. He has an athletic background because his father, Andre, was also a rugby player for the Western Province.
His mother Louise, on the other hand, was a Western Province swimmer. He has a brother named Andre-Louis de Villiers, who is an ex-junior Springbok turned full-time yogi.
How old is Jean de Villiers?
He is currently 40 years old. For his education, the athlete attended Paarl Gimnasium before enrolling at Stellenbosch University.
Career
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Most of Jean de Villiers’s profiles reveal that he started his rugby career at wing but later progressed to the inside centre position. He made his test debut in 2002 against France in Marseille.
He debuted at the international level in the South African Sevens team. He was part of the team that finished second in the 2001-2002 IRB World Sevens Series and third in the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
Unfortunately, he missed the 2003 Rugby World Cup because of a shoulder injury. Nevertheless, he was part of the 2002 Junior Springboks that scooped the victory of the IRB U21 World Championships. By 2004, he had gained popularity and featured in South Africa’s 2004 Tri-Nations success.
In 2007, the rising star was joined on the Springboks team by Bismarck Du Plessis. But, unfortunately, he was not part of Springboks playing team in the 2007 World cup because he had torn his biceps.
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However, he returned in 2008 and played all Springboks’ tests. In the following year, he revealed that he was taking a contract with Munster. However, just a year after signing with Munster, the athlete announced he was leaving the team in 2010 to secure a position in the South African team participating in the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
Although Jean de Villiers’s Munster departure broke the hearts of Munster’s fans, he made up for the heartbreak with his incredible performance in the World Cup. He in 2011, agreed to move back to Western Province and the Stormers.
De Villiers was in 2012 named Springboks captain, a position he revealed made him feel like a youngster who was coming into test rugby. He led the team to many victories and played a total of 109 Tests for the Springboks. He retired from rugby in 2016 after being captain in South Africa’s team in 37 tests and scoring 27 tries.
Highlights
The retiree has some great memories to cherish throughout his life. One has to be his victory at the 2007 Rugby World Cup. Did Jean de Villiers win a world cup? For those who are asking, yes, he did win, which is one of his career highlights.
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His other career highlight is being one of the six players ever to cap more than 100 tests for the Springboks. His accolades also mark his career highlights. They consist of the 2005 SA Rugby Player of the Year, 2008 Players’ Player of the Year, and 2008 Vodacom Super 14 Player of the Year nominee.
Jean de Villiers’s knee injury
Rugby is a contact sport, and the players will plow into each other during the game. Unfortunately, this comes with a string of related injuries. This former rugby player has an appalling injury record.
He once made a video posted to his former Springboks teammate John Smith’s Instagram account showing his fans the toll of his injuries. In the video that went viral, Jean revealed a problem with his knee, describing it as loose.
He sustained his first knee injury during his test debut against France in 2002, marking the start of many knee injuries. However, he has suffered a rib injury during the 2011 Rugby World Cup, a fractured jaw during Springboks’ 2015 match, and tore his biceps.
Who is Jean de Villiers’s wife?
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The rugby player has been married to Marlie de Villiers since 2010, and they have three children Lana, Luca, and Layli. Jean de Villiers’s family appear close as they are frequently spotted spending quality time together in places like the Springbok Experience Rugby Museum at the V&A Waterfront.
Jean de Villiers is a former South African rugby player who has played for major teams like Munster, Barbarians, Western Province, and Leicester Tigers. Although he started his career at wing, he served mainly as an inside centre. Nevertheless, he goes down in the rugby books of history as one of South Africa’s finest rugby players.
READ ALSO: Who is Adriaan Strauss? Age, wife, current team, height, weight, profiles
Briefly.co.za shared an article about Adriaan Strauss. He is a former South African rugby union player who played for the hooker position. He played for famous South African teams like the Cheetahs, Barbarians and Bulls.
In 2016, he was named the 57th captain of Springbok. However, two years later, he retired from Test international games. Get to know more of this star in this read.
Source: Briefly News
