By Lucky Maree
ON THE BALL: Relying on the so-called “confidence” player will always bite you in the ass when you can least afford it, warns Lucky Maree.
Suddenly, the flyhalf is on his own. He is surrounded by 50,000 spectators and 30 players on the field, but he is on his own. At his feet, the rugby ball, 45 yards ahead of him – at an uncomfortable angle – the posts. In commentator-speak, it is the proverbial “kick he should get”.
He comes forward and . . .
South Africa managed to convert two kicks out of five at the posts. The seven points that South Africa didn’t get from kicks to the posts, as if it needs to be said again, would have put an entirely different complexion on the game. It could even have been the difference between winning and losing.
The confident player is that man who from time to time plays such a brilliant game that it leaves you breathless with admiration. But he does it once every five times. Just enough to make you think that next time it will be okay.
People who have alcoholic partners will tell you that it is madness to repeat the same action over and over again while hoping for a different outcome. It is the road to heartbreak.
Damian Willemse didn’t ask to be flyhalf. He was put there because he was willing and he has the skills. But there will always be that crucial moment when he – through no fault of his own – will drop the ball.
If the eight-foot putt to win a Masters golf title is the toughest test of Big Match Temperament, that deciding kick at the posts in a rugby test match is a close second.
“You can do it!” screams the motivational speaker while banging on the table with his fist, but the truth is that some people, whatever the reason, can and some can’t.
Willemse’s kick-pass to the corner for wing Kurt-Lee Arendse – when Arendse wasn’t there – proves the point. The ball bounced favourably for South Africa and turned an embarrassing moment into simply a failed 50-50 opportunity. But unfortunately it begs the cynical question: “What were you thinking, Damian?!”
The time for experimentation should be over, but the mix isn’t working. Johan Goosen is already in Europe (to play for South Africa ‘A’) and he would be a good “experiment” at the moment. Chris Smith of the Bulls, has the quiet confidence and the skills to play flyhalf (and kick goals). He must be sitting in Pretoria wondering when he will get some sort of a chance.
But South Africa will persist with “utility back” Damian Willemse.
Willemse, a determined and committed player, is going to be the lamb that is led, step by painful step, to the slaughter between now and the World Cup. And when he fails, he should not be the one to take the blame. The people who put him there should face the nation.
Pictured above: Damian Willemse
