Cape Town - Normally it would be regarded as a massive blow to the Springboks if Duane Vermeulen is ruled out through injury, but it may just be a blessing in disguise in Saturday’s series decider against Ireland in Port Elizabeth.
The Springbok management announced in a statement on Monday night that Vermeulen had sustained a grade two muscle tear in his left elbow in Saturday’s thrilling come-from-behind 32-26 victory at Ellis Park.
The Boks levelled the series at 1-1 after losing the opener 26-20 at Newlands.
But coach Allister Coetzee would’ve had a selection headache in deciding whether to start with Whiteley, who was outstanding in replacing Vermeulen at halftime in Johannesburg, or sticking with the former Stormers man for Saturday’s showdown at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Port Elizabeth.
Vermeulen had his elbow heavily strapped after hurting it in the opening stages of the game when he tried to hand off an Irish defender, but soldiered on until halftime, with Whiteley coming out at No 8 after the break.
“Duane went for X-rays on Monday, which revealed a grade two tear in the elbow. He will be out for between two to six weeks, depending on how the injury responds to treatment,” Bok team doctor Konrad von Hagen said.
The Lions captain went on to play an influential role in the Boks’ stunning comeback from 19-3 down to clinch the first win of the Coetzee era, along with franchise teammates such as Ruan Combrinck, Julian Redelinghuys and Franco Mostert, who all played some part in the second-half revival.
And fortunately for the Boks and Coetzee, scans showed that Whiteley hadn’t suffered any damage to his AC joint in his shoulder, so he should be fine to wear the No 8 jersey in PE on Saturday as no replacement will be called up to the squad, even though he didn’t take contact in practice on Monday.
Vermeulen looked largely off the pace in both matches since his return from French club Toulon, and was mainly used as a “crash-ball” carrier in comparison to Whiteley, who displayed superb footwork to score his maiden Test try and kept the continuity going in the Bok attack.
The 28-year-old is able to create space and is also much more of a linking player than Vermeulen, so he is better suited to the more fluid style of play that the Boks are working towards going forward.
The other minor injury concern was prop Trevor Nyakane (ankle), but the scans proving that he had some swelling and would be assessed again on Tuesday. Centre Damian de Allende sat out of practice on Monday with a stomach bug, but is expected to be fine to play.
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