Willemse embraces midfield challenge in Boks’ must-win clash in Wellington

Switching to inside centre for the Springboks’ all-important Rugby Championship clash with the All Blacks will be a different challenge for Damian Willemse compared to what he is used to.

However, he is excited to line up with flyhalf Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu on his inside and Canan Moodie on his outside, as the duo form a brand-new midfield combination for the world champions.

It’s a backline full of flair that head coach Rassie Erasmus has selected for the duel in Wellington (09.05am SA time kick-off), and he is hopeful the players will express themselves on the field.

With that freedom, though, also comes the responsibility of getting the Boks back to winning ways in order to retain the Freedom Cup and keep their Rugby Championship hopes alive.

Willemse will start in the No 12 jersey for the first time and says they’ve been working hard to nail down their combinations. Alongside Willemse and Moodie in midfield, Cheslin Kolbe and Ethan Hooker will feature on the wings, with Aphelele Fassi at fullback. Feinberg-Mngomezulu partners scrumhalf Cobus Reinach as the game-drivers.

“Expressing yourself is not always about playing flashy rugby,” Willemse said.

“This is a Test match we want to win. We can expect a physical and hard game. We want to nail our roles, and if an opportunity presents itself, we must take it. That is expressing ourselves. Our focus is on the small moments and ensuring we are dialled in for when those opportunities come along.

“We had about 10 chances last weekend that we did not use, and the focus is to be clinical and nail them on Saturday.”

Willemse looks forward to stepping into the role that Damian de Allende has fulfilled so successfully for the side. Although he hasn’t started at inside centre for the national team, he has featured there as a substitute, so it won’t be entirely unfamiliar.

He is also no stranger to the inside centre jersey at franchise level, having played in that position for the Stormers.

“It will be a new role for me, having to step into the responsibilities of Doogz (De Allende), but it is something I’m excited about — especially linking up with Sacha, Moodie, and the back-three outside us. This is an opportunity to play our game and hopefully get that victory.

“This is probably the first Test I will be playing with Sacha, and we’ve done a lot of work during the week to ensure we are aligned going into the match — what we can expect from each other, how we want to play, and how we see things develop.

“Having Moodie on the outside is about getting our defensive pairing right, our communication too, and making sure we can put the team on the front foot. We’ve looked at how New Zealand can attack us, especially like in that first 20 minutes last weekend. We try to win every Test match, and last week is still in our minds, but we’ve put it behind us. The focus is on getting the victory.”