
Share
28th September 2018
07:06pm BST

"A best buddy of mine, Joe McBrien - a club footballer - contacted him through a social media platform. "Fair play to Jean, he sent me a fantastic, motivating, inspiring letter about the story of his recovery to come back at the age of 34, to play in the World Cup. The injuries were very similar, his reconstruction was fully artificial, which was different to mine. But himself and another guy, Eoghan Masterson who plays with Connacht Rugby... that guy has visited me two or three times, even in Santry. "It’s amazing the goodwill from people, not only in the GAA community but in other sporting codes in Ireland. In this case a sport code totally disconnected from Gaelic game, and not even in Ireland, a guy who has given his time. "Not only that, but his physiotherapist who rehabbed him is also sending regular information back to my wife Carol, tips and processes and procedures in rehab of this injury. It’s very encouraging, and it’s inspiring that these guys take the time out to respond to you."Incredible stuff from De Villiers and a true measure of the man. "I hope that if I can bounce back from this," said Parsons, "I can repeat that gesture of good will to maybe another guy who’s struggling and I’ll be sure to do that."
Explore more on these topics: