Damian Willemse would have felt on top of the world last November, but five months later he may not be quite sure of where his rugby career is heading.
Six Test caps and a World Cup winner by the age of 21, the playmaker from Strand had a memorable end to 2019.
Initially, his hopes of making the Springbok World Cup squad were dashed due to a knee injury that ruled him out of a few games before the 31-man group was selected.
He had to be satisfied with a stint at Saracens in England as a back-up player in case of injuries, and then his dream came true when Rassie Erasmus called on him after Jesse Kriel tore his hamstring.
The then-Bok coach held him in such high regard that he was considering Willemse to start at full-back in the World Cup final, following Willie le Roux’s inconsistent displays. The Paul Roos prodigy didn’t make it on the field in Yokohama, but earned a gold medal.
After being seen as a No 15 by Erasmus, Willemse wanted to establish himself as South Africa’s No 1 flyhalf in 2020 by starring for the Stormers in Super Rugby. Things began smoothly against the Hurricanes at Newlands, but the rest of the campaign has been a bit of a bumpy ride for the youngster.
Interspersed with a couple of dazzling runs have been missed penalties to touch and posts - with a 56% success rate - questionable game management, taking on the defence too often and not getting the most out of a talented backline.
Willemse was shifted to full-back for their last match against the Sharks, with Jean-Luc du Plessis wearing the No 10 jersey. As much as coach John Dobson insisted the change in position wasn’t due to Willemse’s form, but rather to counter the Sharks’ tactical kicking, his actions spoke louder than his words.
As it worked out, Du Plessis was injured in the opening quarter and Willemse moved back to pivot, but the Stormers still lost 24-14 in Durban.
Dobson feels that some of the criticism of Willemse has been unwarranted. “What people are seeing with Damian is, by his own admission, some poor penalty kicks for touch, and that’s now equating to a bad game,” the coach said this week during Super Rugby’s lockdown due to the coronavirus.
“If you look at his Super Rugby trend report - and I’ve chatted about this to two guys who have coached at international level about what they thought of Damian’s game - they think he is pretty solid.
“I think where we made an error is when he returns on the counter-attack, he is often on the ground, and that puts us under pressure after we return the kick. And with the amount of kicking going on in Super Rugby, that’s a problem for us.”
Willemse’s ability is undoubted. He has good speed, is able to side-step the opposition almost like Cheslin Kolbe, is a strong defender and has a solid boot. But would his skills be better utilised at full-back, where he would have more space to operate in than at flyhalf?
“I have spoken to Damian directly about where he wants to play, and he doesn’t mind,” Dobson said.
“I have spoken to the national coach, and it’s not my role to impart that information. He’ll still be in the frame at flyhalf when we resume - not saying every game or the whole game.
“Probably, the bottom line is, it’s open Jean-Luc lasted 19 minutes and broke three ribs - he will be back probably, but certainly if Jean-Luc is not there, Damian is definitely at 10.”