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Duane Vermeulen breaks silence on his missed bucket list tick
Fit-again Duane Vermeulen has broken his silence about the injury that caused him to miss the recent Lions series and tick a much desired Springboks milestone off his bucket list. The veteran No8 had been expected to feature in the South African back row until an ankle injury while playing Rainbow Cup for the Bulls in June ruled him out of Jacques Nienaber’s plans.
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The 35-year-old came back into the Springboks squad for the final week of the Lions series but he didn’t feature in that game while he also wasn’t selected for the follow-up two matches versus Argentina, Vermeulen unselfishly telling his coach ahead of that Lions series finale he wasn’t fully ready to take part.
Having since travelled to Australia, though, ahead of South Africa’s remaining four Rugby Championship matches, Vermeulen appeared alongside Nienaber at a virtually held media conference and has now declared himself finally ready to play for the Springboks for the first time since the 2019 World Cup final, the win over England where he was voted man of the match.
“It was tough missing out on the Lions. It was a bucket list tick that I really wanted to be part of,” he admitted, reflecting on the series that eventually tilted the way of the Springboks 2-1 after they had lost the opening Test on July 24.
“My injury was a bit more severe than everyone else thought. I hoped to get back on the field for the final Test against the Lions and unfortunately I wasn’t ready. I gave it my all in training and went to Jacques and said, ‘Listen, I’m going to drop the team if you put me out on the field’.
Ex-All Blacks boss Hansen didn't hold back in his weekend criticism of the Springboks, stinging remarks that were put to South African boss Jacques Nienaber at his Tuesday media conference in Australia https://t.co/LYPpSdHKXd
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 31, 2021
“I made a tough decision but that was the right decision at that stage, to make sure I heal up completely and be ready and fit for the following games. It’s difficult sitting on the sidelines but by running water on the touchline you can get into the coach’s head and you can be that extra voice for the coaches on the field. You can give some pointers to the guys on the field, where to play, what to do and what we are seeing from the outside. It was a nice introduction into coming back into the squad and now I am ready to go.”
The long term aim for Vermeulen is to still be a part of the Springboks at the age of 37 by the time of the next World Cup final in France in two years’ time. It’s an ambitious target for the 54-cap back-rower whose No8 shirt was worn by newcomer Jasper Wiese versus the Lions.
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Vermeulen was impressed by his new Test squad teammate and the hope is that the increased competitiveness for selection will benefit his own chances rather than herald the end of him as a Springboks regular. “You’ll keep on pushing as long as you can until you can’t keep up anymore,” he insisted.
“That is the biggest thing I have learned. I have spoken to Jacques before and said, ‘Listen, I’ll try and give my best and play my part in this squad’. If he sees that I am not pulling my weight or I’m lacking in a way or I can’t keep up with the pace of the game, they need to sit down and speak to me about it and say, ‘Maybe your time has come and gone’.
“Now I am still pushing and trying my best to play alongside my teammates and try to represent the country as best I can. Looking forward to the next couple of challenges that lie ahead and if that pushes you to another World Cup then so be it. I’m looking forward to that.
“You can definitely play a role not being on the field,” he added, explaining how he briefly dipped into the coaching side of things last month. “I love the mauling in our game in the way we play so with coach Deon Davids doing the lineouts and Lood (de Jager) and Franco (Mostert) and them, I have learned a lot throughout the years in mauling and I love it.
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“I tried to spend as much time with some of the guys and also introduce one or two new things to the guys on mauling and things that we can do to help the guys, to help improve the way we do our mauling. That really kept me busy and with all the analysis, the video and things like that, I hopefully helped the guys with some more technical stuff.
“There was one little slip (against the Lions) but from there on it has been one step at a time going in the right direction. I would say we are still not there yet (back to the levels of 2019). There are still a lot of things to work on because of the amount of time we spent apart and the new way the refs are refereeing the game, the new laws, all those things. It makes a massive adjustment to the way you play the game or the way you approach your game. Not there yet but we are hopefully going in the right direction.”
"We clean our own rooms… nobody is allowed to enter our red zone"
– Both the Springboks and the Pumas were looking to hit the ground running this week in Australia but Monday training was cancelled at their shared Rugby Championship facility https://t.co/HXfb601f7p
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) August 31, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
A wallaby front-row of Bell, Blake and Tupou…now that would be hefty
1 Go to comments“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
10 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
24 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
10 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 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)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to comments