The awkward moment Willemse reminded he can't get ahead of himself
Damian Willemse hasn’t known anything like it so far in his embryonic Test level career with the Springboks. He made a Test debut as a 20-year-old in 2018 but it hasn’t been until now that his face has properly fitted into his country’s selection plans, the utility back getting chosen to play in all six of their most recent matches – once as a starter at full-back and the rest as backline bench cover.
It’s a run of regular appearances in stark contrast to what has gone before, intermittent use in his breakthrough season followed by some harsh lessons the following year where he only made the World Cup squad as a mid-tournament injury call-up, going on to play just a single match – the easy-street win over Canada.
Now, though, the value of Willemse to the Springboks is considerably altered. New head coach Jacques Nienaber certainly likes the cut of his jib, including him in all of the Test match 23s announced since the start of July. And yet, the reminders of not getting too far ahead of himself are never too far away for Willemse.
There he was on the virtual media briefing link on Friday from the Gold Coast, replying to a question posed by RugbyPass about his increased value to the Springboks, when assistant coach Mzwandile Stick interrupted to remind him he still can’t be sure of his place in the current pecking order. “If you make the squad of 23,” interjected the backs coach mid-sentence.
A smile eventually accompanied the spontaneous interruption but all the same, it was a subtle shot across the bows of Willemse, a reminder that the 23-year-old must become an expert in his versatile role if he is to continue to figure in Nienaber’s Springboks selection plans.
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’m really fortunate to be able to be in the match 23,” he enthused in his initial answer before Stick’s mid-flow interruption. “There are a lot of quality players like Frans (Steyn), Jessie (Kriel) all missing out and for me, it is an opportunity every week to go and use the opportunity and make the best out of it…”
Then came the unexpected interruption before the continuation of his answer. “…If I do make the squad of 23. I am really enjoying it. The team has been performing very well so it has been enhancing my chance to get into the team and to continue my run, but I am happy with the way the team is going and the trust in what the coaches have been putting into me. I have been really enjoying that and I’m looking forward to the next four weeks.”
Fresh from series victory over the Lions and back-to-back successes over Argentina in a Test season that commenced with a win over Georgia nine weeks ago in Pretoria, the Springboks are now quarantining in Queensland ahead of their upcoming battles versus the Wallabies and the All Blacks.
It’s a huge trip for Willemse and some fellow youngsters in the Springboks set-up and he paid particular tribute to the encouragement given by the likes of veteran Steyn. The 34-year-old could understandably be frustrated by his own limited matchday involvement in recent months, but not a jot. Instead, his presence in the squad has been invaluable to those rookies making their way at Test level.
“I have been training with Frans the entire time leading up to the upcoming Tests and I must say he is such a chilled guy,” reckoned Willemse later in the Springboks media briefing. “He is working really hard at his game and just to have him with us, his presence in the team, he is always calm, always comes up with the plan, always clear communication.
“I have been really enjoying him as a person on and off the field. He really works hard at his game and to think a guy like him at his age as well, who is probably not 100 per cent, he still gives it 100 per cent. I have been really enjoying him and he is helping a lot of the youngsters, especially in the backline.
“(Aphelele) Fassi and I and a few other guys, you can really see how we are enjoying him. Frans Steyn has really been helping me a lot when it comes to game management, the way he also keeps the ball. I have been learning a few tricks from him and he is not shy to share them as well.”
It helps that Willemse is now more comfortable with his own versatility, more than happy to help out the Springboks in a variety of positions rather than insist he must be only be considered for one particular position. “For me, I don’t have a preferred position,” he explained. “The preferred position is to try and make the 23.
What Duane Vermeulen unselfishly said to Springboks coach Jacques Nienaber in the week of the final Lions Test illustrates how impressive a character he ishttps://t.co/qVdsCTSHh3
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 1, 2021
“There is a lot of quality players who aren’t fortunate enough to make the match 23 at the moment, guys with 40, 50, 60 caps behind their names. For me it is all about developing my skill set, working with the coaches, understanding the plan and if the plan is there for me, executing that and building on the current win rate of the team.
“The coaches are really helping me develop my skill set, whether it is required at No15 or No12. Especially coach Stick with the high balls, we work really hard on that, and just some game management stuff if I want to play at No15. And then at No12 there is a clear role for me, what I need to do in the team.
“We have a specific plan for how we want to win Test matches… Management is putting the team in the right place so we can force pressure and turn the ball over and make our wingers like Makazole (Mapimpi) and Cheslin (Kolbe) get into the game and score brilliant tries. That is one of the areas that I have been working on, trying to focus on.
“I had this conversation earlier today and we were talking about how small the margins are. If you do make a mistake it might be a small mistake but it will be five, seven points, especially against teams like Australia and New Zealand who have a lot of skilful players and a lot of armour in their backline as well. It’s all about playing clever and playing smart against good opposition, but we also have a plan.”
Having arrived in Australia last Friday, the Springboks will soon be free from quarantine at their Gold Coast hotel and will be able to venture outside that facility. When it happens, Willemse has one specific goal. “I want to go to the beach. We are looking forward to that.
“Everyone is really excited to go into normal life again if I can call it that. We have been in the bubble for quite some time. We are staying at a very nice hotel on the Gold Coast and there is a vibe in the team. Everybody is getting along and for the next four weeks, it is going to be rugby focused and making sure we continue to deliver the results on the field.”
Former Springboks scrumhalf and Saracen double centurion Neil de Kock explains how the Springboks pull off magic. #RugbyChampionship #Springboks https://t.co/UPyDUTkYZK
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) September 2, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?
31 Go to commentsWow, didn’t realise there was such apathy to URC in SA, or by Champions Cup teams. Just read Nick’s article on Crusaders, are Sharks a similar circumstance? I think SA rugby has been far more balanced than NZs, no?
2 Go to commentsBut here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.
15 Go to commentsIt could be coincidental or prescient that the All Blacks most dominant period under Steve Hansen was when the Crusaders had their least successful period under Todd Blackadder and then the positions reversed when Razor took over the Crusaders.
15 Go to commentsDefinitely sound read everybodyexpects immediate results these days, I don't think any team would travel well at all having lost three of the most important game changers in the game,compiled with the massive injury list they are now carrying, good to see a different more in depth perspective of a coaches history.
3 Go to commentsSinckler is a really big loss for English rugby.
1 Go to commentsThanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause
15 Go to commentsNo way. If you are trying to picture New Zealand rugby with an All Blacks mindset, there have been two factors instrumental to the decline of NZ rugby to date. Those are the horror that the Blues have become and, probably more so, the fixture that the Crusaders became. I don’t think it was healthy to have one team so dominant for so long, both for lack of proper representation of players from outside that environment and on the over reliance on players from within it. If you are another international side, like Ireland for example, sure. You can copy paste something succinct from one level to the next and experience a huge increase in standards, but ultimately you will not be maximizing it, which is what you need to perform to the level the ABs do. Added to that is the apathy that develops in the whole game as a result of one sides dominance. NZ, Super, and Championship rugby should all experience a boom as a result of things balancing out. That said, there is a lot of bad news happening in NZ rugby recently, and I’m not sure the game can be handled well enough here to postpone the always-there feeling of inevitable decline of rugby.
15 Go to commentsNo SA supporter miss Super Rugby - a product that is experiencing significant head wind in ANZ - the competition from rival codes are intense, match attendance figures are at a historical low and the negativity of commentators such as Kirwan and Wilson have accelerated the downward spiral in NZ. After the next RWC in 2027 sponsors will follow Qantas and start leaving in droves.
2 Go to commentsLike others, I am not seeing the connection between this edition of the Crusaders and the All Blacks future prospects under Razor. I think the analysis of the Crusaders attack recently is helpful because Razor and his coaching team used to be able to slot new guys in to their systems and see them succeed. Several of Razor’s coaches are still there so it would be surprising if the current attack and set piece has been overhauled to a great extent - but based on that analysis, it may have been. Whether it is too many new guys due to injuries or retirement or a failure of current Crusaders systems is the main question to be answered imo. It doesn’t seem relevant for the ABs.
15 Go to commentsharry potter is set in stone. he creates stability and finishes well. exactly what schmidt likes. he’s the ben smith of australian rugby. i think it could quite easily be potter toole and kellaway for the foreseeable future.
5 Go to commentsThis is short sighted from Clayton if you ask me, smacks of too much preseason planning and no adaptability. What if DMac is out for a must win match, are they still only going to bring their best first five and playmaker on late in the game? Trusting the game to someone who wasn’t even part of planning (they would have had Trask pinned in as Jacomb preseason). Perhaps if the Crusaders were better they would not have done this, but either way imo you take this opportunity to play a guy you might need starting in a final rather than having their 12th game getting comfortable coming off the bench.
1 Go to commentsThanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.
21 Go to commentsWhat a load of bollocks. The author has forgotten to mention the fact that the Crusaders have a huge injury toll with top world class players out. Not to mention the fact that they are obviously in a transition period. No this will not spark a slow death for NZ rugby, but it does mean there will be a new Super Rugby champion. Anyone who knows anything about NZ rugby knows that there is some serious talent here, it just isn’t all at the Crusaders.
15 Go to commentsI wouldn’t spend the time on Nawaqanitawase! No point in having him filling in a jersey when he’s committed to leave Union. Give the jersey to a young prospect who will be here in the future.
5 Go to commentsIt was a pleasure to watch those guys playing with such confidence. That trio can all be infuriating for different reasons and I can see why Jones might have decided against them. No way to justify leaving Ikitau out though. Jorgensen and him were both scheduled to return at the same time. Only one of them plays for Randwick and has a dad who is great mates with the national coach though.
53 Go to commentsBrayden Iose and Peter Lakai are very exciting Super Rugby players but are too short and too light to ever be a Test 8 vs South Africa, France, Ireland, and England, Lakai could potentially be a Test player at 7 if he is allowed to focus on 7 for Hurricanes.
7 Go to commentsPencils “Thomas du Toit” into possible 2027 Bok squad.
1 Go to commentsDon’t see why Harrison makes the bench. Jones can play at 10 if needed, and there is a good case for starting her there to begin with if testing combinations. That would leave room for Sing on the bench
1 Go to commentsWhat a load of old bull!
1 Go to comments