Pierre de Villiers (rugby union)
| Full name | Pierre du Plessis de Villiers | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Date of birth | 14 June 1905 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Worcester, South Africa | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Date of death | 14 November 1975 (aged 70) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 61.2 kg (135 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| School | Paarl Gimnasium | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Pierre du Plessis de Villiers (14 June 1905 – 14 November 1975) was a South African international rugby union player.
Born in Worcester, de Villiers was educated at Paarl Gimnasium and remained based in Paarl during his career.[1]
A scrum–half, de Villiers debuted for the Springboks in their 1928 home series against the All Blacks. He was a member of the 1931–32 touring squad, but Danie Craven was the preferred scrum–half, and he only played in the match against England. The team met with George V during the tour and he is said to have commented on de Villiers' diminutive size by joking he was too small to be seen by the opposition.[2] He played a home Test match against the Wallabies in 1933, then gained a further three caps on a 1937 tour of Australia, before retiring with a knee injury.[3]
See also
References
- ^ "Pierre de Villiers". bokhist.com.
- ^ "The King's Joke With Springboks At The Palace". Daily Mirror. 4 November 1931.
- ^ "Pierre de Villiers Retires". The Referee. 5 May 1938. p. 15 – via National Library of Australia.