Damian Willemse has explained his extraordinary decision to call for a scrum inside his own 22 during the World Cup quarter-final against hosts France left even the referee surprised.
A decision that took fans by surprise, Willemse called for a scrum after taking a mark during the second half of the intense quarter-final between the hosts and the defending champions.
The decision paid off, with the Springboks powering through Les Bleus to win a penalty as they went on to secure a 29-28 victory.
During an episode of RugbyPass’ ‘Boks Office’ recently at the Cape Town Sevens, Willemse shed light on the decision and how it was pre-planned by the Bok coaching staff.
Damian Willemse on THAT scrum call at #RWC2023 🤯
Watch the full episode on RugbyPass TV ⬇️
🔗https://t.co/ILVKBV2UPX#BoksOffice pic.twitter.com/WiicNX74SW
— Rugby World Cup (@rugbyworldcup) December 12, 2023
“That was a strategic plan by the coaching staff,” the 25-year-old told former Springboks Jean de Villiers, Bryan Habana and Hanyani Shimange.
“The thing that made it work was the flow of the game, the time of the game, no one was expecting it. Even the forwards didn’t know when we were going to call it. We said we’re going to have a time in the game where our forwards were still fresh, when we had the upper hand or when we needed a big play.
“So yeah, obviously the play was called at the right time and then obviously the forwards did their thing and got us the penalty.”