FILE - Springboks centre Jean de Villiers is tackled by Argentina prop Rodrigo Roncero during a Rugby Championship match in Mendoza in 2012. De Villiers was involved in a near catastrophic incident during a match against Los Pumas in 2005. FILE - Springboks centre Jean de Villiers is tackled by Argentina prop Rodrigo Roncero during a Rugby Championship match in Mendoza in 2012. De Villiers was involved in a near catastrophic incident during a match against Los Pumas in 2005. Picture: Juan Mabromata / AFP
The Estadio Velez Sarsfield in Buenos Aires is one of the most intimidating sports stadiums on the planet.
Known as the Fort, the 50,000-seater stadium normally rocks when Argentine football side Velez Sarsfield and their rowdy fans get going. Crowd trouble is a regular issue there, and in 2023 the fans even held their own players at gun point after a defeat.
That is why there there is a big fence in between the stands and the field where the “Ultras” - a fancy name for hooligans - sit, while a deep moat runs around the pitch to prevent fans from running on to the field.
In 2005 the Springboks played Argentina’s Los Pumas there in sweltering conditions. It was so hot, that the supporters on the stands were sprayed with hoses used by fire trucks to cool off.
But, despite the heat, the Argentina crowd got behind their team in the only way they know how - singing, dancing and intimidating the opposition.
The Springboks are in Argentina this week for round five of the Rugby Championship 🇦![CDATA[]]>🇷
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) September 16, 2024
Who remembers the bizarre incident involving Jean de Villiers and the moat 🟨 pic.twitter.com/E2qCjJhET5
The match itself was not a memorable affair - the Springboks won a scrappy Test match 34-23 - and it is actually only remembered for an incident that could have turned to out to be catastrophic.
Early in the second half, Springboks centre Jean de Villiers tried to wrestle a ball away from Los Pumas wing Lucas Borges after forcing him into touch.
Borges didn’t want to let go of the ball for De Villiers to attempt a quick throw-in and the Bok centre ended up pushing Borges into the advertising board. However, what De Villiers didn’t know was that the deep moat was just behind the board.
The board ended up giving way, and Borges was on his way to plunge head-first into the moat. However, by some miracle, De Villiers managed to grab hold of the Borges’ leg, holding on for dear life to prevent the wing from getting seriously injured ... or worse.
De Villiers ended up getting help from the other players on the pitch, who helped to pull Borges back into the light. After a bit of scuffle - Argentina’s players weren’t happy with the push - De Villiers was yellow carded and had to leave the pitch for 10 minutes.
De Villiers, who a few years ago chased down a shoplifter in Paarl while wearing a pair of flip-flops, said on the Boks Office podcast with Hanyani Shimange and Schalk Burger that he wasn’t aware of the moat.
@boks_office Nearly killed or saved his life, we’ll let you decide 😅 #boksoffice ♬ original sound - Boks Office
“When I’m not keeping Paarl safe from shoplifters, I save lives!” De Villiers joked on the podcast.
“That was the scariest thing ever. The advertising boards were there and the moat behind it, but I didn’t know about the moat, even though I had played there previously.
“I wanted the ball and I pushed him. He then fell over the advertising board and I saw there was trouble down there. I luckily stuck out of hand and grabbed his sock, got to his ankle and we pulled him up.
“They [Argentina’s players] wanted to punch me, and then I got a yellow card for it!”
The Springboks are back in Argentina this weekend when they take on Los Pumas in the Rugby Championship in Santiago del Estero.
@JohnGoliath82
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