Century Test looms for De Villiers

De Villiers will become the fifth player to have played hundred games for South Africa.

He follows the likes of Bryan Habana, Victor Matfield, John Smit and Percy Montegomery who have all featured over a century of matches in the green and gold jersey.

"When the big names in South African rugby are mentioned, Jean will forever be among them," Meyer said. "He's shown a lot of character and resilience to get here and, to me, those are things that set him apart. Jean is not only an extremely good rugby player, but he's also one of the greatest captains I've ever worked with."

De Villiers will play immediately outside Pollard who will make only his fourth test appearance.

"We felt that Handré has the right skill set for how we want to approach this game," Meyer said. "He played well in the three tests that he started. It's also good for continuity to have an almost unchanged side. We know where we made mistakes last weekend and the players now have an opportunity to rectify those against the toughest opponent in world rugby."

(File Photo:Gallo Images)

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