Duane Vermeulen ready to make sensational Springboks return against Wales

Double World Cup-winning Springbok Duane Vermeulen could potentially make a return to rugby this weekend against Wales in the Quilter Nations Series, should he be needed.

The legendary No.8, 39, has been part of Rassie Erasmus’ coaching staff since hanging up his boots after lifting the Webb Ellis Cup in 2023, but has been listed as one of the reserve players for South Africa this weekend at the Principality Stadium.

With the match falling outside of the Test window, the Springboks will be bereft of many of their superstars in Cardiff, with many returning to their clubs after the victory over Ireland last week.

Not only has Erasmus been forced into selecting a 7-1 split on the bench based upon the players he has at his disposal, but Vermeulen has been listed as the 25th man in the squad, behind 24th man Ntuthuko Mchunu, who was added to the Springboks squad midway through November.

Erasmus has never been shy of outlandish decisions across his career, but should Vermeulen find himself playing on Saturday, it will surely go down as the Springboks boss’s most unorthodox.

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Wales

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South Africa

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“The team selection, I don’t think we planned at the beginning of the year to go 7-1 against them,” Erasmus said after naming his side. “It’s actually the only guys available after discussing with our franchises.

“It was almost forced on us. Player 24 is [Ntuthko] Mchunu and player 25 is Duane Vermeulen. One injury and [Mchunu] is in and another injury and Duane is in.

“That’s a chance we were willing to take for our franchises and for them to have a proper start in the URC.

“So we kind of rolled the dice because we really only have 24 players with us. Ntuthuko Mchunu is the 24th player, and Duane Vermeulen is currently the 25th if we get an injury before Saturday.

“We only have two scrum-halves here, and Damian [Willemse] covers fly-half.”