De Villiers ruled out of tournament

South Africa centre Jean De Villiers is out of the World Cup after tearing his left biceps during the side's 59-7 defeat of Samoa on Sunday, a team statement said yesterday.

De Villiers was substituted early in the second half and taken to hospital for X-rays which showed he would have to return to South Africa to undergo surgery.

Wayne Julies was called up yesterday as a replacement and should arrive in France today.

De Villiers, who has struggled with injury throughout his career, is a key member of coach Jake White's team. His latest setback is a huge blow for South Africa, who face defending champions England in their next Pool A game on Friday in Paris.

The 26-year-old centre was ruled out of the 2003 World Cup through injury and had been out of action for a month after sustaining a rib injury in a warm-up match against Namibia.