Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber has stuck with Damian Willemse at flyhalf. Photo: Dan Sheridan/INPHO/Shutterstock/BackpagePix
Cape Town - Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber’s actions spoke louder than his words yesterday when he stuck with Damian Willemse at flyhalf for Saturday’s Test against France in Marseille (10pm SA time kick-off).
Nienaber talked a lot about the goal-kicking issues that cropped up in last week’s 19-16 loss to Ireland in Dublin, and while acknowledging the importance of scoring points with the boot, he did at least infer why he decided to keep faith with Willemse in the No 10 jersey.
“If you have a flyhalf who can kick for goal, it’s awesome.
But he must have a good attack, drive the forwards forward, drive the game for us. He must have a good defensive kicking game… he must spot space. If he’s required to go into a ruck or breakdown, he must do that well,” Nienaber said yesterday.
Nienaber deserves credit for not giving into the temptation to either move Willemse to fullback or drop him to the bench.
Before the end-of-year tour started, the Springbok coach made it clear that the Stormers star was the first-choice pivot following the injury to Handre Pollard, as well as the unavailability of Elton Jantjies.
So, if he had to shift Willemse out of the No 10 jersey for the French Test, it would have affected the 24-year-old’s confidence immensely.
Yes, it was a far from perfect performance at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Apart from the one missed shot at goal, Willemse didn’t find touch a few times, had a couple of kicks charged-down, and booted one straight into touch as well.
But there is no denying that he has an immense skill-set, and if the Boks are serious about developing their attack ahead of the World Cup, Willemse is the right man to take charge at No 10 – even when Pollard and Jantjies are able to play.
Perhaps the key to his success – judging on the significant contributions he made to the Stormers’ United Rugby Championship-winning campaign last season – is to allow him to play what he sees in front of him instead of sticking rigidly to the game plan.
The incident where he kicked the ball straight into touch against Ireland was actually a wonderful attacking opportunity, with two or three teammates on his outside. If that had been the Stormers, there is no doubt that Willemse would have passed the ball instead of kicking it.
Of course the margins are smaller and the pressure much greater in Test rugby – and the goalkicking is an issue that he has to improve upon, and which Nienaber insisted yesterday is receiving the necessary attention.
But Willemse has all the tricks in his bag to become a world-class flyhalf – and he must be given licence to utilise his full arrange of skills at the Stade Velodrome.
The same applies to the exciting back-three of Willie le Roux, Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse.
It was a travesty to see Kolbe being instructed to drop into the pocket and kick-and-unders near the halfway line in Dublin instead of having a full go at the Irish defence.
That is why I was hoping that he would be given another chance at fullback, as he had just one real run on a counter-attack last week.
But let’s hope that Le Roux – and Willemse – can weave their magic. France have been warned: watch out for pace twins Kolbe and Arendse …
@AshfakMohamed