Head-to-head: Vermeulen v Faletau
Daniel Johannes Vermeulen and Tangaki Taulupe Faletau will be two such forces when the Springboks and Welsh Dragons meet in a World Cup quarterfinal at Twickenham on Saturday.
We all know that in play-offs, especially in the World Cup, the key is not to concede penalties and be very accurate in the execution of your core functions in the team.
They are two hugely physical forces – beastly, brutish and merciless in their approach. They are both strong ball carriers and solid on defence.
So what is the point of reference, what sets them apart?
One could perhaps ask: Does Vermeulen's late start – the neck injury that sidelined him since the latter stages of the Super Rugby season – mean he is still a bit ring-rusty?
After all Vermeulen has only 240 minutes (three pool matches) of game time since his comeback.
Does Faletau have an advantage because he has played consistently for the past two months?
He has played in three World Cup warm-up matches and three pool games, roughly double Vermeulen's game time.
We know that players coming back from lengthy injury lay-offs often require five-six games to get into their stride – we saw that even Fourie du Preez looked a bit ring rusty.
However, there is one aspect that does set these two beats aside – a part of Vermeulen's skillset that could give his team a distinctive advantage.
Rudolf Straeuli, currently the CEO of the Golden Lions Rugby Union, but a World Cup-winning former Bok No.8 feels Vermeulen does have something that can give him the edge in this clash of the 'titans'.
"One of Vermeulen's great strengths, apart from the fact that he is a very strong ball-carrier, he is very strong on the ground," Straeuli told rugby365.
"He is a great all-rounder, but what makes him so much more valuable, is that is also a poacher at the breakdown.
"If you look at Australia, they play with two poaching loose forwards [David Pocock now at No.8]," Straeuli said.
Wales, in Sam Warburton and Justin Tipuric, also have two great openside flanks.
"We don't need two openside flanks, because we have a No.8 who plays towards the ball on the ground," the former Bok No.8 told rugby365.
So how do they shape up?
Here are some key statistics!
Duane Vermeulen
Did not play in the 32-34 loss to Japan
Played 80 minutes in the 46-6 win over Samoa
Played 80 minutes in the 34-16 win over Scotland
Played 80 minutes in the 64-0 win over the United States
Full name: Daniel Johannes Vermeulen
Date of birth: 3 July 1986 (age 29)
Place of birth: Nelspruit, South Africa
Height: 1.93m
Weight: 116kg
Taulupe Faletau
Did not play in the 54-9 win over Uruguay
Played 80 minutes in the 28-25 win over England
Played 80 minutes in the 23-13 win over Fiji
Played 80 minutes in the 6-15 loss to Australia
Full name: Tangaki Taulupe Faletau
Date of birth: 12 November 1990 (age 24)
Place of birth: Tofoa, Tonga
Height: 1.87m
Weight: 110kg
By Jan de Koning
@King365ed
@rugby365com
Statistic courtesy of @rugbyworldcup
