South Africa lose captain Jean de Villiers to yet another injury

Jean de Villiers

Birmingham - Springbok captain Jean de Villiers has been ruled out of the remainder of Rugby World Cup 2015 after breaking his jaw in the Pool B victory against Samoa at Villa Park on Saturday.

Heyneke Meyer, coach of the Springboks, described this latest injury to 34-year-old De Villiers as a massive setback and said his squad were “heartbroken”.

Jan Serfontein has been called up and will join the squad in Newcastle on Monday. An announcement on the captaincy for the match against Scotland on Saturday will be made on Wednesday.

 “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.

“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.”

De Villiers’ World Cup career has been cursed. He was ­injured in the final warm-up game before the 2003 World Cup and suffered a serious bicep injury in the opening game of the tournament four years later when he watched his teammates go on to lift the trophy. He was also injured during the 2011 World Cup.

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

De Villers has been affected by a catalogue of injuries since 2002 and has undergone six knee operations, including one after the Wales game last November. Artificial ligaments were used to help rebuild the joint.

At the time the Springbok skipper admitted he feared he would never walk again and described his recovery as “a miracle”.

He made his comeback against Argentina in August when he suffered his broken jaw, and against all the odds he recovered to be fit for the Rugby World Cup 2015. But now he is heading home already, his tournament over after two games.