Willemse reveals his ideal position
SPOTLIGHT: When talking about Springbok flyhalf options the name Damian Willemse doesn’t automatically appear.
In Super Rugby, Elton Jantjies and Curwin Bosch are at the forefront, while for the Springboks Handre Pollard (Montpellier) has been the man in the driver’s seat.
Meanwhile, Willemse’s name has always been accompanied with the question – Is he best suited at flyhalf or fullback?
Stormers head coach John Dobson has made it clear that he sees Willemse as the franchise’s No.10.
At the start of the season, Willemse don the flyhalf jersey for the first five games of his team’s Super Rugby campaign before he was moved to fullback for their match against the Sharks – ahead of Super Rugby’s COVID-19-enforced suspension.
However, contrary to what the Stormers’ camp believe, Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus and the majority of pundits prefer Willemse in the No.15 jumper.
Speaking to reporters in a video conference Willemse said: “The plan has always been to use me at No.10 and No.15 and that’s the two positions that I am rotating in at the moment.
“At the Stormers, I have been playing at flyhalf for the season. At international level, it depends. I made my debut for the national team [vs Argentina in 2018] at flyhalf. I think it has given me a lot of opportunities to grow and to see the game from different angles.
“Having said that I prefer No.10.”
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You certainly can’t argue with those who feel that Willemse should don the 15 jersey.
Both gigs come with a fair slice of pressure. However, it seems like the 22-year-old’s tenure at flyhalf has been a lot more tiring.
Just a look at his last game at flyhalf against the Blues, when the Stormers were outplayed and lost 14-33 at Newlands. It is clear that he has one or two work-ons with goal-kicking being his main focus.
“It has been difficult to execute a lot of exercises and training certainly has been tough.
“Nonetheless goal kicking had been my top priority and I’m working hard on it.
“Having said that with the lockdown, training that skill has been restricted but I have been doing a few other stuff to help my kicking.”
*Also read: Bok fullback joins Stormers
The Springbok has also welcomed fullback Warrick Gelant’s signing, stating it will be a huge help in relieving some of the kicking duties.
“I’m really excited for Warrick Gelant to come down to Cape Town.
“Gelant is a world-class player and his good attributes will certainly be good for the Stormers. especially in the absence of Dillyn Leyds.
He added: “Warrick will play a huge role in our kicking game. I think it’s always a huge boost when you have a kicker that can kick with both feet and it will certainly be helpful to me.”
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