London – The nominees for the IRB World Player-of-the-Year will be announced today and Springbok No8 Duane Vermeulen would be a strong candidate for that list.
The 28-year-old Western Province star has been a revelation in 2014, so much so that he could be the favourite to win the world’s best player prize at the end of this month.
But yesterday in London, ahead of what is fast becoming a must-win game against England at Twickenham on Saturday, that was the furthest thing from his mind. He shyly said “Thanks” when told that his barnstorming performances have made him one of the best in world rugby, but the disappointment of an embarrassing defeat to Ireland is clearly still hurting.
And the big man was unable to impose himself on proceedings like he normally does, as the Irish defence targeted him by assigning two or three players to deal with those charges up the middle. “My personal opinion? Ja, I wasn’t great. You get your ups and you get your downs … It’s actually nice to learn how you get knocked off your high horse, and you’ve got to fight your way back,” Vermeulen said.
“Every single game is a learning curve for each and every player, and like I said, I wasn’t great. Hopefully, I can work on that and just give a better performance on the weekend. There is always stuff to work on. I still don’t feel that I am at that point to be the best or receive the accolades or whatever. You always want to be the best, and if you are up there, you’ve got to work bloody hard to stay there.
“If you play international rugby, you get targeted everywhere. So, I just want to play my game. If there are three okes on you or whatever, you’ve still got to play your game.”
And Vermeulen spoke another truth: The euphoria of the long-awaited victory over the All Blacks had affected the Boks’ mental state heading into the tour. Defence coach John McFarland was asked whether Monday’s robust training session in which they played virtually full contact against each other was as a result of a lack of intensity against Ireland, and Vermeulen was nodding in agreement before McFarland could answer.
Asked if there had been an element of complacency within the camp before the Ireland game, Vermeulen replied: “I think so. I think, after beating New Zealand, you kind of feel ‘Hey, this is where we are supposed to be or got to be’. But hey, you’ve got to pitch up every single weekend. You can’t beat the world No1 and then think you are invincible.
“Hopefully we can just come back and play the rugby that we want to play. You can’t be taken up by the atmosphere or how the other guys play – you’ve got to stick to your game plan and the way you want to play.
“Hopefully, we can go out and give the good performance that we really want to, and pitch up and enjoy it. That’s the main reason.”
The Boks had gone into the Ireland game a bit undercooked, despite having prepared for three weeks, as they hadn’t played since the New Zealand game on October 4. That is why they were surprised by the high tempo with which Ireland hit them in the first half.
They can’t afford a slow start this weekend against an even more physical side like England, whose powerful pack will look to intimidate the Boks and disrupt their set-pieces.
Vermeulen will have his hands full as well in trying to stop England No8 Billy Vunipola, who is five centimetres shorter than his Bok opposite number but has about a 20kg weight advantage – a big lump of a man who will be hard to stop with ball-in-hand. - The Star