Damian Willemse says he’s relishing the chance to combine with Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu and Canan Moodie in a new-look Springbok backline against the All Blacks in Wellington.
With Damian de Allende being rested for Saturday’s Rugby Championship rematch, Willemse has been handed a rare start at inside centre, linking up with flyhalf Feinberg-Mngomezulu for the first time in a Test.
“It’s a new position for me. I haven’t started there yet but I have played a couple of Test matches at inside centre later in the game,” Willemse explained on Tuesday.
“It’s a new role, stepping into Doogz’s responsibilities in the No 12 jersey, but it’s something I’m really excited about – especially linking with Sacha and Moodie and the back three outside me.”
Willemse says this week’s preparations have been about fine-tuning their partnership as a 10-12 pairing.
“I’m very excited to play with Sacha. We’ve done a lot of work this week to make sure we’re aligned going into this Test – what we can expect from each other and how we want to play the game.”
Defensively, Willemse stressed the importance of clarity in communication with outside centre Canan Moodie.
“We’re just working on getting that defensive pairing straight,” he said. “It’s basically just small, micro-communications we need to get right, especially with the way we expect New Zealand to attack us, and what they showed in the first 20 minutes last week.”
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Despite the perception that the backline selected for the Wellington showdown is young and inexperienced, scrumhalf Cobus Reinach, winger Cheslin Kolbe and Willemse boast over 40 caps each while Moodie and fullback Aphelele Fassi are both nearing 20.
Photo: Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images
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