Cape Town — Damian Willemse made his Stormers debut at the age of just 18 years and 301 days in 2017, and at the end of the following year, he was a Springbok.
The Strand youngster was seen as the new flyhalf saviour for the Cape side, but things just didn’t work out in the No 10 jersey.
Despite being part of the Bok World Cup-winning squad in Japan in 2019, Willemse probably only truly came of age as a rugby player in last season’s triumphant United Rugby Championship campaign, where he played a key role for the Stormers at inside centre.
But we all know that Willemse is a prodigious talent, and even though he operated mainly at fullback for the Boks, he got some game time as a pivot earlier this year and excelled.
The real examination, though, was whether he could handle the responsibility of calling the shots for the Boks from the start at No 10. That day arrived in Sydney on September 3, when Willemse was called upon following knee injuries to Handre Pollard and Elton Jantjies.
The Paul Roos Gim product did so well against the Wallabies that even if both Pollard and Jantjies had been available for Saturday’s clash against Argentina in Buenos Aires (kick-off 9.10pm SA time), he may have held on to the starting spot anyway.
Willemse attacked the gain line by lining up flat, in the face of the opposition, and varied his play smartly between kicking, running and passing.
Yes, he missed a few shots at goal, but his overall performance earned him the man-of-the-match award.
And that is what Bok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick wants to see from Willemse again at the Estadio Libertadores de America on Saturday night.
“We have to keep getting better in how we want to play. When the opportunities are there, I’m glad that the guys like Willie (le Roux) and Gaza in the backline get excited when they see those opportunities,” Stick said during a press conference from the Argentine capital on Friday.
“The plan was never to slow the game down. If Argentina want to lift the tempo up and have a go, we will live with them in that world.
“I’m just happy for a guy like Damian getting an opportunity in that position. Over the past few seasons there was always a question mark around him playing flyhalf, and everyone knows that this is a very special player.
“One thing I enjoy now watching him is that he is very much on his game — not only his X-factor. It’s the way he controls the game … the basics, fundamentals, when you look at high balls, how he defends.
“His game is starting to mature. It’s not always about him stepping and doing all the fancy things. I am just happy to see him growing in his game, and he has a good working relationship with Damian de Allende at 10 and 12, and also with Willie at the back, who also comes in at first receiver.”
IOL Sport