By Lucky Vince Pienaar
It’s hard to understand what a tough blow it is for South African rugby that Damian Willemse will not make the Outgoing Tour to Europe, which starts this coming weekend.
Not only is Willemse one of the most impressive assets for Springbok rugby, but he is also possibly the most important contender for the position of flyhalf.
To make matters worse for the great rugby talent, he will miss the next 10 Springbok matches due to a groin injury.
This means that, with the exclusion of Willemse and Sasha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, South Africa are without two of their four top flyhalves on tour.
It’s a mighty testament to the depth of South African rugby that Manie Libbok, who had a good day with the boot for the Stormers on Saturday, and Handré Pollard are ready and certainly able to step into the position.
By contrast, New Zealand start their very tough tour with a match against England this Saturday, and they are still not sure if their current number 10, Damian McKenzie, is the right man for the job.
Also an indication of the strength of South African rugby, Cameron Hanekom, who plays eighthman for the Bulls, has been called up for the tour to the Northern Hemisphere.
“We are comfortable with the depth and versatility we have among the backs in the squad,” said Rassie Erasmus.
“So we decided to include another forward to add to our loose forward stocks.”
It’s worth remembering that the reverse happened during the 2023 Rugby World Cup. When Malcolm Marx was injured, Erasmus gambled on Deon Fourie to play hooker and called up Handré Pollard instead.
Many fans feel that Hanekom should have been included in the Bok squad anyway. Described as the natural successor to Duane Vermeulen, he has certainly proven himself worthy of a place among the Springbok forwards, and that’s saying a lot. He’s in the company of the likes of Eben Etzebeth, Pieter-Steph du Toit, and Siya Kolisi.
The Springboks start their tour on 10 November, when they play Scotland at Murrayfield in Edinburgh.
Pictured above: Damian Willemse leaves the field and walks out of the Springbok squad due to injury.
Source: SA Rugby
