Jean de Villiers is happy with his physical preparation ahead of the World Cup, despite a tight calf.

The Springbok captain was scheduled to play 40 minutes for Western Province in their friendly against the Pumas last Saturday, but stayed on the park for an hour before he was forced to leave the field with a tight calf.

'Honestly, I still have a lot to work on, but going into contact, I wasn't thinking about my knee. I made some tackles and got tackled. That was a great thing. I got what I wanted out of the game,' De Villiers told the Cape Argus. 

'My calf was a bit tight, which was a problem that flared up a month ago. It got very tight early in the second half and that's why I came off.

'I've had a tough three or four weeks in terms of my physical preparation and it probably isn't the ideal situation to play the two games I have after eight months off, but getting through the workload is pleasing,' he added.

Photo: Luke Walker/Gallo Images