Well regarded for his work in the scrum both as a player and a coach, Pieter de Villiers perfectly fits the description of a scrum guru.
Born in Malmesbury, South Africa De Villiers went on to represent France at test level making his debut in 1999, on 28 August in a test match against Wales in Cardiff, just prior to the start of the 1999 Rugby World Cup in Wales. Despite only having the one international cap, De Villers was included in France's World Cup squad. He came on as a replacement in the quarterfinal win over Argentina. He also played in the subsequent famous semi-final victory over the All Blacks. France made it through to the final, where they met the Wallabies. Australia won 35–12.
He also came off the bench for France in the Final at the age of 27. He became a mainstay in the French squad and is something of a Stade Francais legend, making 150 appearances for the club during his 14-year long career. During the 2002/03 season, de Villiers won the Top 14 championship with Stade Français, defeating Stade Toulousain 32–18 in the final. In 2003 he was given a short ban for recreational drug use after traces of cocaine and ecstasy were found in a drugs test – the player denied knowingly taking drugs but was banned for bringing the game into disrepute. De Villiers played two tests against Argentina and one against the All Blacks in June 2003, but did not play at the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia. Stade Français again made it to the final of the French championship, where they defeated USA Perpignan 38–20, to take the championship.
In 2002 he helped France win the Six Nations Grand Slam and repeated the feat in 2004. At the club level, he has had a very successful career, playing on teams that won the Bouclier de Brennus as French champions in 1998, 2000, 2003, 2004, and 2007.
In December 2007, de Villiers suffered a neck injury that sidelined him for a large part of the 2007–08 season. Even after recovering, he had difficulty breaking into the Stade Français squad. On 18 April 2008, he announced his retirement from all rugby, effective at the end of the 2007–08 season.
De Villiers was scrum coach for the South African National Rugby team and was regarded as a trusted aid of the previous coach Heyneke Meyer. During his time with the national team he also performed as part of Rassie Erasmus' mobi unit that assisted all the South African Provincial sides.
He continued to work within the South African Rugby landscape until 2017 when he joined Heyneke Meyer at his former club Stade Francais as the side's scrum coach.
He departed the role during the 2019/20 season to join Scotland's coaching staff, in July he signed as a permanent member of the coaching staff after impressing as a consultant.
Career
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Scotland Assistant Coach |
2020 - present |
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France Tighthead Prop |
1999 - 2007 |
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South Africa Coach |
2011 - 2015 |
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Stade Francais Tighthead Prop |
1994 - 2019 |
