H.O. de Villiers - Springbok legend that re-invented fullback play

Johannesburg - H.O. de Villiers, one of the greatest rugby fullbacks of all time, died this week aged, 76. Mike Greenaway pays tribute to a legend that re-invented fullback play.

The pressure on the young fullback about to make his debut for South Africa was off the scale. His nose began bleeding in the warm-up behind the Kings Park posts for no other reason than excruciating nerves. Back in the change room, his legs threatened to buckle underneath him until one of the seasoned veterans of the team, John Gainsford, flung a burly arm around the 22-year-old and whispered words of encouragement until composure was restored.

After all, this was minutes before what Danie Craven had billed as the most important Test match in Springbok history since it all began in 1891.

It was 15 July 1967 and the Boks —so long either the best team in the world or rivalling the All Blacks for the unofficial crown had lost eight of their previous nine Tests.

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This was utterly catastrophic given that in the amateur era the Springboks seldom lost and certainly not in a calamitous sequence that culminated in Craven, the doyen of South African rugby, demanding victory from the Boks.

And tightening the lid of the pressure cooker was the chilling fact that their opponents that day were a brilliant French side that had conquered all of Europe.

Craven had selected eight new caps for this almighty match, one of whom was Henry Oswald “H.O.” de Villiers, our debutant earlier described…

The Springbok annals trumpet the magnificent Springbok victory that day, with no player more heralded in the 26-3 rout than De Villiers, who nailed four conversions