Duane Vermeulen SA Rugby Mobi-Unit coach Duane Vermeulen is excited by the talent at eighth man available for the Springboks this season. Photo: AFP
Image: Phill Magakoe AFP
Double World Cup winner and Springbok Mobi-Unit coach Duane Vermeulen is excited about the budding talent at No 8 for the national side ahead of the new season.
But he says someone like Jasper Wiese, currently playing in Japan, should not be forgotten just because he is out of sight.
The Boks will have a host of young and talented players to select as part of experimental sides when they start the season against the Barbarians (28 June), Italy (5 and 12 July) and Georgia (19 July) in a couple of months.
Players like Cameron Hanekom and Mpilo Gumede at the Bulls, the Stormers’ Evan Roos, Phepsi Buthelezi at the Sharks, and the Lions’ Francke Horn have excelled for their franchises in the United Rugby Championship.
Hanekom and Roos have represented South Africa, and will be eager to add to their Tests this year.
Hanekom has been excelling for the Bulls despite picking up an injury recently. He should be back on the field soon, probably against Leinster at Loftus Versfeld in the URC clash on March 22.
Roos is back to his best after recovering from a long-term injury picked up last year, and played a prominent role when the Stormers beat the Bulls this past weekend.
Wiese, though, is the incumbent after the departure of Vermeulen, and it will take some extra special performances to lift him out of the saddle.
“Jasper is probably the guy who started the most games last year,” Vermeulen said.
“He doesn’t play in South Africa, so people don’t see much of him. But he is still there.
“Then you have younger guys knocking on the door. Evan had a few opportunities, and Cameron Hanekom is coming through. Francke was selected for the alignment camp, so seeing the competition growing, especially in South Africa, is nice.
“There are a lot of youngsters putting up their hands. So, they push the more established players in this position. Hopefully, we’ll see guys stepping up and performing for the Springboks if selected.
“We have an interesting one regarding the eighthman position.”
Vermeulen said that he found his feet after transitioning from a World Cup-winning player to coach in the Bok set-up after an initial tricky stage being part of the management.
He added that he enjoys the challenges of the national coaching environment, and looks forward to the new season ahead.
Vermeulen added that looking at a rugby match from a coaching perspective has been a good learning curve, but he could still add to the Boks by looking at it from a players’ perspective.
“In the beginning, I had to find my feet, which was difficult. You still think you are part of the players, but don’t know if you are part of the coaches. The coaches were welcoming, but you kind of still feel like a player.
“As the year went on, I took on more and more responsibilities. I enjoyed those. This year will be a good challenge.”