Pieter de Villiers

Who is Pieter de Villiers?

Pieter de Villiers is a retired South African-born French rugby union footballer who represented France at international level and played in two Rugby World Cups, and ended his club career with Stade Français in the Top 14 competition in France. A prop, he was renowned for his scrummaging ability.

De Villiers made his debut for France in 1999, on 28 August in a test match against Wales in Cardiff, just prior to the start of the 1999 Rugby World Cup in Wales. Despite only having the one international cap, De Villers was included in France's World Cup squad. He came on as a replacement in the quarterfinal win over Argentina. He also played in the subsequent famous semi-final victory over the All Blacks. France made it through to the final, where they met the Wallabies. Australia won 35–12.

De Villiers was selected in France's 2000 Six Nations Championship squad, and played in all of France's five matches during the tournament. He also earned another two international caps in November of that year, and was in the starting lineup in the second of two tests against the All Blacks. He cemented his position in the starting lineup, where he played all of the 2001 Six Nations Championship games as well as the June and November test matches.