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South African-born De Villiers lays foundation for Scotland against Boks

When Scotland's forwards hear the first 'crouch, bind, set' for a scrum against the Springboks in their Rugby World Cup opener in Marseille on Sunday, they will do so in confidence, propped up by two South Africans and having been coached by Pieter De Villiers.

READ | Rugby World Cup a slow burn affair in sweltering Paris

In his playing days, De Villiers was known as a tactically strong prop and a beast in the scrum. Born in the Western Cape town of Malmesbury, he won 68 caps for France and appeared in two Rugby World Cups for his adopted country.

The 51-year-old was brought into the Scotland set-up in 2019 and has been credited with shoring up the front five of the world's fifth-ranked team.

"You can never hide from the set-piece. It is about taking them on, it's always about that one-on-one physicality. There is no hiding in the set-piece," De Villiers said.

The South African, who was a long-time regular at Paris-based Stade Francais in the Top 14, said facing his home nation would be memorable.

"It's always the same. They are all very special moments," he said. "For the players who have worked so hard for a long time, getting to participate in this is really special.

"As a coach you don't have that extra special feeling of being on the field but the pleasure of working with players and helping them and the team grow is a huge satisfaction."

Fantastic opportunity

His is not the only South African accent to bless the Scotland squad. Apart from stand-out winger Duhan van der Merwe, others who have switched allegiance include a second wing in Kyle Steyn and props WP Nel and Pierre Schoeman.

"The training week is similar to what we have been doing, but it's been adapted to what we want to get right for the World Cup," De

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