The journalists at the press conference where Paul de Villiers made his first appearance as a member of the national squad had to work hard to nail down the angle they were looking for - and it was understandable that this was the case.
Asked about all the turnover kings, the ball scavengers that the product of Oakdale might have been inspired by, he admitted that he’d learned a lot from several players who've worn the No 6 jersey (openside is No 7 in foreign teams) and were renowned for their expertise at the breakdown.
But he refused to name anyone until later on there was mention of Heinrich Brussow, who was an ace ball scavenger for the Springboks in their winning 2009 season in particular.
“It is hard to single out guys, but yes, I watched a lot of Brussow’s games and I definitely learned something from how he tackled the breakdown,” said De Villiers.
However, although he used the term ‘fetcher’ himself, a more pertinent question to ask the 23-year-old Stormers star and former Junior Springbok captain might have focused on what he thought of something that the then Bok coach Jake White said on the subject back in 2006.
“The only fetchers I know about are my sons, who fetch me beers from my fridge,” said White in explaining the continued controversial exclusion at the time from his squad of Luke Watson, who was very much in the fetching mould.
The thing is that, as White was intimating, there are players who are renowned for their ball scavenging abilities who become specialists at it. At the time White was talking, there were several flankers renowned for their turnover ability who didn’t do much else. As they tended to be shorter players, they couldn’t be a factor in the lineout, and often didn’t have the bulk, explosiveness, or the ball skill to show up as strong ball carriers.
Those of us who have interviewed De Villiers before know that he sees himself as a more modern version of the No 6 flank. When a cricketing analogy was introduced to describe how he might feel when he makes a turnover, as in does it feel like a batsman feels when he hits a six, he was also clever enough to expand it to the need to be able to do more than just hit sixes.
HE'S ALSO A STRONG TACKLER
De Villiers isn’t just a turnover specialist, he contributes far more than that to the Stormers, and is coming more and more into his own as a ball carrier.
Maybe the passing of time has done something negative to my memory, but there are times when De Villiers’ carrying style is reminiscent of the former Transvaal, Natal and Springbok No 6 flank Wahl Bartmann. He is also a very strong tackler, much more of a standout in that aspect of the game than the names aforementioned.
It is easy to understand why there is so much focus on De Villiers’ ball winning abilities at the breakdown. It is an invaluable skill to have and helps any team you play for, and De Villiers is big on the theme of contributing to the team cause rather than on individual ambition.
It would have been his 19 turnovers won in the URC that thrust him to the forefront of Bok coach Rassie Erasmus’ mind, but De Villiers has a more eclectic approach to the subject than some of his predecessors as wearers of the No 6 jersey might have had.
“As I played more rugby through my school years, I formed into a fetcher role, but I hope that is not the only thing I contribute,” said De Villiers.
“I learned a lot from watching top players at the breakdown. I am still learning, and right now am learning a lot from guys like Siya (Kolisi), Siba (Mahashe), and Emmanuel (Tshituka), the other sixes in the squad. I have stuff I bring to the table, but Siya adds things I can learn, so it is good to listen, watch, and learn.”
The mention of Mahashe is a reminder of the multi-faceted strengths of a modern player in a position where playing to the ball is a big part of the brief, as for that matter is the precocious England talent Henry Pollock, who we should see facing the Boks in the Ellis Park test on 4 July.
Given that players put up for media duty are often set for a big role in the game being built up to, there appears a good chance that De Villiers may play some part for the Boks in Saturday’s game against the Barbarians at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqebeha.
However, in his typical humble and give everything to the team fashion he appears not too concerned whether he is wearing the Bok jersey or playing for the SA A team against Zimbabwe, as it is all forms part of his journey.
“I’m just super excited to get on the field, whether it is against Zim or the Barbarians. I just want to contribute.”