Should Handré Pollard walk back into the Bok No 10 jersey or is it Damian Willemse’s to lose? DYLAN JACK and OLIVER KEOHANE go head-to-head in SA Rugby magazine.
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DYLAN JACK: POLLARD MUST TAKE UP HIS MANTLE
2023 will see the return of the king when Handré Pollard resumes his position as the Springboks’ go-to No 10.
The 2019 World Cup winner has endured a nightmare run since lifting the Webb Ellis trophy in Japan. Joining Montpellier in a mega-money movewas an ill-fated experience as Pollard played in only 25% of the club’s matches in his four-year stay due to a succession of knee injuries.
It appeared that things weren’t going to get better when Pollard arrived at the Leicester Tigers carrying an injury from his time with the Springboks in the Rugby Championship and lasted just 20 minutes when he made his Premiership debut.
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However, he provided a timely reminder of his enduring class when he kicked 14 points to guide Leicester to a Champions Cup victory over Clermont, thereby becoming the first team to secure their place in the last 16.
A consistent theme through Pollard’s career, from his school days at Paarl Gimnasium, to playing for the Junior Springboks and then the senior national team, has been the bigger the game, the better he plays.
He was still a schoolboy when he played a crucial role in helping the Junior Boks beat New Zealand to lift the U20 Championship on home soil.
At just 20 years old in his debut Test season in 2014, he scored two tries to help the Springboks claim a rare win over the All Blacks.
More recently, it’s worth remembering that even amid his run of injuries, he has been massive when the Boks have needed him most, whether it’s been against the British & Irish Lions, the All Blacks on the Gold Coast in 2021 or the decisive third Test against Wales in Cape Town last year.
Damian Willemse has more than proved his case of being able to handle the pressure of the Bok No 10 jersey, but it is a jersey that still belongs to Pollard.
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OLLIE KEOHANE: WILLEMSE MUST BE BACKED
2022 was the first year in a long time that Handré Pollard’s role as the first-choice Springbok flyhalf was seriously challenged and, despite a series of sub-par performances from the World Cup winner, it was circumstance rather than selection that saw someone else come in at No 10.
Three games into the Rugby Championship, Pollard returned home injured. The Bok management was forced into finally backing Damian Willemse – who had shone for most of the season at fullback – at first receiver.
Willemse owned the position on arrival, producing a Man of the Match performance to guide the Springboks to an emphatic win over the Wallabies. The result was more pertinent given they had lost to the same Australian side one week earlier.
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My hope in 2023 is that Willemse is shown the same backing, despite Pollard’s return to fitness. By no means must Pollard be discarded; he is a World Cup winner and one of the best flyhalves in the world on his day. But he has been a shadow of his former self for the past 18 months at international level and injured for the most part at club level.
The same is not true of Willemse, who has consistently been one of the Stormers best players, especially in their URC-winning season, and stepped it up at Test level the whole of last year.
The Springboks have had scant cover at flyhalf for many years, and often an out-of-form Pollard has been better than the next best option. It’s no longer the case, and to continue to deny the form of Willemse because of the history of Pollard is a disservice to both players.
Competition breeds growth, and it has been too long since Pollard has had his position challenged. To give Willemse an extended run at flyhalf would be to foster an environment in which both players are driven to perform, and the Boks become the beneficiary with two stunning options who can play either flyhalf or inside centre.
– This article first appeared in the March 2023 edition of SA Rugby magazine
Photo: EPA/KIM LUDBROOK