The 23-year-old Stormers player has taken the Springbok environment by storm since making his debut this season, featuring in every match-day 23.

And it's against the Scots where he made the biggest impact, drawing plaudits from World Cup-winning Springboks Bakkies Botha and Kwagga Smith. With Rugby's Greatest Rivalry tour looming large, that could well be the stage where De Villiers makes himself indispensable to Rassie Erasmus and the Springbok cause.

KWAGGA: “HE'S A PERSON WILLING TO LEARN”

Smith, currently sidelined through injury, was asked about the internal competition de Villiers presents, but the experienced loose forward quickly dismissed that framing. “I think I saw him actually when we were at alignment camp, I popped in at the hotel and he was one of the first guys to come and talk to me and ask for advice and stuff like that,” Smith said at the Johannesburg announcement of Castle Double Malt as title sponsor of the Greatest Rivalry tour. “That’s special because it shows that he’s a person that’s willing to learn.”

“For us [the Springboks], he’s also a player that’s buying in and willing to learn and learning the ways he wants you to play is really special,” he added. “He’s been playing really well and I think he’s got a great future in front of him. Hopefully he just keeps on playing the way he is.”

BIG BAKKIES PINPOINTS WHAT MAKES DE VILLIERS SO VALUABLE TO THE SPRINGBOKS

Former Bok enforcer Botha, never a man to hand out compliments carelessly, was equally effusive in his assessment. “A guy like Paul de Villiers is an amazing player and he showed it in the games he’s played so far,” Botha said at the same Double Malt event earlier this week. “He’s so low on the ground and that makes a big difference at the breakdown.”

Botha went beyond the obvious numbers to explain the subtler tactical impact de Villiers creates. According to him, De Villiers is not just winning turnovers. He is buying the Springbok defence the half-second it needs to reset, and that changes entire games.

“The breakdown is a critical area of the game, and De Villiers has excelled in it. He has a unique ability to read the play and make the right decisions, which is crucial for a flanker.

“Not only counting the turnovers he makes, it’s just that one or two seconds at the breakdown that makes the ball slow for the opposition, allowing our defensive line to get into position,” he said. “That’s why we’re so successful in our defensive line, it’s that slow ball at breakdowns.”

Key Facts

  • Paul de Villiers is a 23-year-old Stormers flanker who has featured in every Springbok match-day 23 this season.
  • He started in the exhibition against the Barbarians in Gqeberha and has retained his place in the starting XV against Scotland in Pretoria.
  • De Villiers has made eight ball carries, beat two defenders, covered 63 meters with ball in hand, completed 16 tackles, and claimed one turnover against Scotland.
  • He is one of only four players to feature in every Springbok match-day side this season, alongside Pieter-Steph du Toit, Jesse Kriel, and Ben-Jason Dixon.
  • The Springboks will face the All Blacks in Rugby's Greatest Rivalry tour, which will see the two teams play seven games against each other.

The Springboks have been struggling to find a suitable flanker, but De Villiers seems to have solved that problem. With his exceptional skills and willingness to learn, he is definitely a player to watch in the coming years.

And it remains to be seen how far De Villiers will go in his rugby career.