Vermeulen out to show the way

 

The Springbok No.8, who was named as one of the IRB Players of the year last year, has taken the captaincy reins at Newlands from the injured Jean de Villiers, with Currie Cup-winning captain Juan de Jongh named as his vice-captain. 

 

Although he will not be giving too many inspirational speeches this season, Vermeulen's strength as a leader will come from the fact that he is currently one of the best in the business.

 

As one of only a handful of first-choice Springboks in the Stormers side and a player that everyone in the squad can look up to, Vermeulen is likely to be something of a talisman for the Cape side this year which is a role he is more than ready to take up.

 

"I have always said that I am not a guy that leads with the mouth or with words, I will only do it with actions and that is what you are going to get from me.

 

"I just want to play and make the guys proud, hopefully I can do that throughout the season," he said.

 

Stormers coach Allister Coetzee expects Vermeulen to set the tone with his hard-nosed approach, and believes that the charismatic Juan de Jongh will work as the perfect foil as his deputy.

 

"I think we have got a nice mix, if you look at Duane's personality he has got structure and a no-nonsense approach, if you look at Juan he has got all the energy, he is a bubbly guy who brings a lot of vibe to the team so they complement each other.

 

"There are times to have the captain being stern and lead by example and then times to have the next in charge keep the energy levels up," he explained.

 

Although he is not the most demonstrative player around, Vermeulen is no stranger to responsibility having been included in the leadership core of the Springboks – which is experience he is keen to take advantage of.

 

"I have been pulled into the leadership group of the Springboks and you kind of learn a lot from the senior okes in that squad. It is nice to see what they go through and I definitely think that you can take a lot of stuff from them and the coaches that are there and bring it into this team.

 

"Hopefully I can give a bit that I picked up there to the guys and we can just roll from there," he told rugby365.com.

 

In terms of how he will express himself tactically as captain Vermeulen said that his focus is on winning by whatever means necessary – no matter what the crowd might think.

 

"I don't want to make the decisions to play for the crowd, we want to win games and we want to win Super Rugby and if we need to take five penalties then we will, I want to play winning rugby and we want to win," he said.

 

That being said, there are a number of exciting young players in the Stormers squad, and Vermeulen said that those expecting them to sit back and rely on their defence are likely to be surprised.

 

"We have got a group with a lot of young guys and a lot of energy and I think there is a helluva lot of enjoyment in this squad. With that comes a lot of skill and something that we haven't seen in the past couple of years.

 

"I think there is going to be a lot of flair and excitement on the field, we want the guys to go out and express themselves on the field," he said.

 

He added that the contrast between himself and his second-in-command De Jongh will give them a healthy balance in leadership.

 

"We are going to play conservative when we need to, but when the chances come and we can play and throw the ball around then we will do it.

 

"Myself and Juan are a good combination because he loves throwing the ball around and I am a little bit more of a conservative guy. In a way you have got to compromise each way and hopefully we can help each other out," he said.

 

By his own admission Vermeulen has never really seen himself as a captain, but rather 'just a really good follower', and he knows that the best way to inspire his troops will be to maintain his high standards and encourage the rest to try and keep up with him.