AUDIO - Willemse: 'That performance was for Bevin Fortuin'
LISTEN as Springbok utility back Damian Willemse speak about their record-breaking 43-10 win over the All Blacks in Wellington on Saturday.
Willemse made his first start at Test level in the No.12 jersey after playing mostly fullback and flyhalf for the Boks.
He’s played inside centre at franchise level more often with the Stormers, with Manie Libbok on his inside, who came on as a replacement and gave the Boks a different attacking dimension.
Willemse scored a try to break the match open in the 61st minute to give the Boks a 14-point lead following Libbok’s conversion in the Wellington demolition job.
He highlighted the importance of the win and paid tribute to Springbok Bevin Fortuin, who sadly passed away last week.
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“It’s awesome. What a performance from the boys,” Willemse said.
“That performance was for Bevin Fortuin as well as for coach Rassie [Erasmus] and the rest of our coaching staff.
“We’ve been coming under a lot of flak and criticism from many of our supporters and people from the outside.
“The boys really stepped up tonight [Saturday] and performed, nailing their roles and detail, and capitalised very well.
“I’m just very pleased for everyone in the team and the dressing room for this performance. It was really special.”
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Willemse added that despite a new look and untested backline selection, the players weren’t as inexperienced as many made them out to be and thanked the management for getting them aligned.
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“When we made changes, people on the outside don’t always understand it.
“We had a lot of experience in the backs. They [New Zealand] had a debutant and an inexperienced No.9 with just two caps.
“Ruben Love had two caps, and Lee Roy Carter made his Test debut, so they also had a lot of inexperience.
“On the other side, I felt that we had ample experience.
“Cobus [Reinach] has 43 caps, Cheslin 44 [caps], and I have 43. The rest of the boys, like Canan [Moodie] and Sacha [Feinberg-Mngomezulu], are all on 20.
“Props to the coaching staff for getting us on the same page, and the boys pitched up, delivered, and executed their [respective] roles.
“I’m very happy for that backline and everyone involved.”
