Jean de Villiers spent his childhood picturing one day running out at Newlands in Cape Town for his beloved Springboks. He not only did that on 10 occasions, but would win 109 caps for his country across a 13-year international career, including 37 matches as captain. If it wasn’t for a succession of cruel injury blows he might well have added another 30 appearances to that total. in recent times the pandemic has ensured no excuse for getting in shape.