Why was Jean de Villiers in the crowd at the 2019 Mzansi Super League Final?

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Former Springbok captain Jean de Villiers was one of the spectators cheering on the Paarl Rocks in last night’s Mzansi Super League Final against the Tshwane Spartans.

In fact, De Villiers decision to purchase a ticket paid dividends as Faf du Plessis led the Rocks to a convincing win by eight wickets.

But why does Jean de Villiers support the Paarl Rocks?

A cameraman spotted the former rugby star in the crowd, and he was hastily asked this very question by SABC3 Presenter Udo Carelse.

“I support the Rocks because I grew up in Paarl,” De Villiers responded wryly. “I still live in Paarl with my family. So, I think it’s fair to say that the whole of Paarl expects my support.”

That was when Rocks’ opening batsman Henry Davids was on just 10 runs but, as if De Villiers had a crystal ball in his snack-bag, he commented that Davids looks in “fancy form” with the bat.

A determined Davids did not let De Villiers down as he went on to blaze his way to an unbeaten 77 off just 44 balls.

However, De Villiers connection to cricket is not restricted to the Paarl Rocks.

He was also named in the Springbok squad to face the Proteas Cricket Team in the 2014 and 2016 editions of the Nelson Mandela Legacy Cup.

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Then, on 26 November 2016, players at the Gary Kirsten Cricket High-Performance Programme enjoyed the pleasure of interacting with Jean de Villiers, who shared some of his insights and experience through a question and answer session with Kirsten himself.

“Jean gave us a fresh perspective on cricket,” said the Director of the High-Performance Programme Ryan Cook.

“He related stories on leadership, culture and his journey of excellence in his field,” Cook explained.

This kind of sporting-related knowledge and nous that De Villiers possesses could prove to be beneficial for the Proteas and there is no shortage of sport-junkies that Cricket South Africa’s Director of Cricket Graeme Smith could ask to share some sound words of advice with the cricketers. Think Victor Matfield, John Smit or former soccer stars like Matthew Booth or Mark Fish.