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'The thing is you cannot replace Duane because you just can't'
Schalk Brits believes the return of the “phenomenal” Duane Vermeulen can deliver a third test win and a 2-1 series triumph over the British and Irish Lions in Cape Town on Saturday.
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Vermeulen and Brits helped South Africa win the Rugby World Cup in Japan where the No8 was a key weapon in the forward battle that saw England beaten 32-12 in the final. Now, having missed the first two tests which the teams shared, Vermeulen has recovered sufficiently from ankle surgery to be added to the Springbok squad for the titanic decider.
The 54-cap back-rower joined the Springboks camp in June only to suffer the injury, and has been undergoing hyperbaric oxygen therapy in a bid to be fit to face the Lions.
Brits gave RugbyPass an insight into the impact his former World Cup roommate (“he was until he started snoring”) can have on the vital third test saying: “The thing is you cannot replace Duane because you just can’t. There are certain players like that and Duane is one of them and I believe he is in the prime of his career.
“He brings a phenomenal presence and captaincy to the team because his leadership has a big role in the Springbok group and then there is his physicality which is exceptional. Also, when things are going south in a game, it means there is another guy next to Siya (Kolisi) that players can look at.
“The third test is going to be about the gain line and who can dominate an that is where Duane has a big part to play because he can win the gain line and also put in the big tackles as we saw in the World Cup final against England in 2019. He puts his head in there.
“Duane’s value to the team is clearly seen when he isn’t there and things are not going so well. He brings it to every game and I don’t think there was someone putting their hand up like Duane to take the high balls in this series.
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“Peter Steph du Toit is a phenomenal rugby player and it is unfortunate he is injured and going forward how do you get the right combination? In the first test our pack did not dominate and then it becomes hard for the back row but in the second test the replacements made a massive difference and the use of the bomb squad was the way we normally did it (in the World Cup). Getting Lood de Jager and Duane into the mix means the Boks will have four line-out jumpers for the final test and that makes it so difficult for the Lions to compete against us.”
Having lost the physical battle and the first test to the Lions, Brits was delighted to see his former teammates rediscover their fight to come out clear winners in the second test with the second half replacements playing a major role in setting up the deciding match.
Brits added: “The guys were very motivated after being thumped in the second half of the first test and then we saw a complete role reversal in the second test last Saturday. I don’t think that tactically anything is going to change and both teams have the same kind of game plan and once again it will be who can dominate the set-piece and the kicking game.
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“The culture of the Boks group is amazing with their never say die attitude and from that perspective, it will be an amazing final test. In terms of the talk about the referees, there was a cat and mouse before the two tests and I don’t think that will change for the last one and it is vital to manage the referee not take the attitude that he isn’t there. For the last ten years the New Zealanders have managed the referee better than any other team.
“It will be important to start on the right side of the French referee on Saturday and stay there! Of course I am going for a Springbok win and once again it is question of can the Lions match our physicality when we are on song. If you want to beat anyone you have to front up and get stuck in which is why I was so surprised in the first test when Cheslin Kolbe was man-handled by Mako Vunipola and none of the Boks went in. In the second test they corrected that.
“There was a lot of niggle last Saturday and it will be the same in this final test.”
LIONS ROUND-UP: Gatland's side must regroup fast after a humbling loss in the second Test. #LionsRugby @thefamousgrousehttps://t.co/B5FJMyh9Rt
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 2, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
You probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
12 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
1 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
1 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
16 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
16 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to commentsMake what step up? Manie has a World Cup winner’s medal around his neck and changed the way the Springboks can play. He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. The win record of the Boks with him in the team is tremendous. Sacha can be wonderful and I hope he has a very succesful Bok career, but comparing him to Manie in terms of the next Bok flyhalf is very strange. Manie is the incumbent (not the next) and doing pretty incredibly.
4 Go to comments00 😍 U
1 Go to commentsSabbaticals have helped keep NZ’s very best talent in the country on long term deals - this fact has been left out of this article. Much like the articles calling to allow overseas players to be selected, yet can only name one player currently not signed to NZR who would be selected for the ABs. And in the entire history of NZ players leaving to play overseas, literally only 4 or 5 have left in their prime as current ABs. (Piatau, Evans, Hayman, Mo’unga,?) Yes Carter got an injury while playing in France 16 years ago, but he also got a tournament ending injury at the 2011 World Cup while taking mid-week practice kicks at goal. Maybe Jordie gets a season-ending injury while playing in Ireland, maybe he gets one next week against the Brumbies. NZR have many shortcomings, but keeping the very best players in the country and/or available for ABs selection is not one of them. Likewise for workload management - players missing 2 games out of 14 is hardly a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Again let’s use some facts - did it stop the Crusaders winning SR so many times consecutively when during any given week they would be missing 2 of their best players? The whole idea of the sabbatical is to reward your best players who are willing to sign very long term deals with some time to do whatever they want. They are not handed out willy-nilly, and at nowhere near the levels that would somehow devalue Super Rugby. In this particular example JB is locked in with NZR for what will probably (hopefully) be the best years of his career, hard to imagine him not sticking around for a couple more after for a Lions tour and one more world cup. He has the potential to become the most capped AB of all time. A much better outcome than him leaving NZ for a minimum of 3 years at the age of 27, unlikely to ever play for the ABs again, which would be the likely alternative.
3 Go to commentsJake White talks more sense than anything I've read in the last 5 years. Hope someone's listening.
16 Go to commentsThe Springboks tried going down the road of only picking home-based players and it was an unmitigated disaster in 2016 and 2017. Picking overseas-based players has been one of the main reason the Boks have done so well since 2018, not only because of the quality Rassie could call on, but because of the knowledge and experience those players brought into camp from England, France and Japan. With some of the big names playing abroad it also gave younger players in SA the chance to break through at franchise level. Would we have seen the emergence of a Ruan Nortje if RG and Lood were still at the Bulls? Not so sure. I understand why Jake would want to block players leaving since his job depends on good results but it’s an approach that would take Bok rugby back to the bad old days and no South African wants to see that.
16 Go to comments