Willemse’s versatility on display as Rassie rings the changes for Scotland stramash at Loftus

Damian Willemse, who delivered one of his most commanding Test performances against England last Saturday from fullback, will start at inside centre against Scotland this coming weekend.

Willemse was sensational against the English, dominating under contestable kicks, drifting into the attack to create overlaps, defending with authority and even producing a stupendous “22/22” kick a metre from the touchline.

In a now familiar trend, Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus made wholesale changes to his side to face Scotland just 48 hours after the win over England.

These changes, as ever, are not a reaction to last week, but part of a preconceived plan. Every player in the squad has a “roadmap”, and they will know exactly where and when Erasmus intends to use them.

That’s why the team is named on a Monday. There is no mystery to the players in camp.

Sometimes plans are disrupted, as happened last weekend when Siya Kolisi and Eben Etzebeth were withdrawn from the starting line-up to face England hours before kick-off, but selections are not a clandestine event in the Bok camp.

Wonderful Willemse

After last weekend’s brilliance at Ellis Park with the No 15 on his back, Willemse will shift into the midfield against Scotland where he will partner Jesse Kriel, who also started against England.

Willemse is comfortable at centre and delivered arguably his finest performance in a Bok jersey in the No 12 jersey against the All Blacks in Wellington last year. The Boks won 43-10.

Naturally, the positional switch has got social media sniggering. People are suggesting Erasmus has moved Willemse into the No 12 jersey because SuperSport gave man-of-the-match to Damian de Allende against England. Somehow the broadcaster mangled the message and the wrong Damian was given the award last week, and now Erasmus wants to make a point.

However, that is highly unlikely, and — fun and games aside — this is an important selection because André Esterhuizen suffered a concussion against England and De Allende can’t play every game. It’s about increasing options.

Willemse is now the complete player — in total control of every facet of his game, from defence in the air or in the tackle, to attack with ball in hand and with the boot.

It was Willemse’s counter-attack early in the game at Ellis Park, where he collected a Fin Smith kick, launched his own contestable kick and regathered it himself, that sparked the team’s second try for Cheslin Kolbe.

Later he scythed down Cadan Murley from behind when the English wing looked to be through for a try. And for good measure, Willemse, hard against the touchline, collected a Marcus Smith punt inside his 22m area and sent it back 65m from a Bok 50/22. There was nothing he couldn’t do.

Willemse’s versatility and technical brilliance offer Erasmus more variation in his selections as the game evolves towards multifaceted players. Willemse is at the forefront of this quiet revolution.

New look

While Erasmus has chosen a team that, on paper, looks weaker than last week’s unit, the fact that he has retained Willemse underlines his value to the squad.

The Boks are happy to tinker and tweak the team, but there is always a spine of experience and proven quality to complement inexperience.

With Handré Pollard back at flyhalf, the 10, 12, 13 axis is formidable. Up front, Pieter-Steph du Toit returns to flanker and will captain the team. His presence is vital. Du Toit brings fearsome competitiveness and a frightening aura for the opposition.

The great flanker leads from the front. He won’t expect a teammate to do anything he wouldn’t, which in rugby terms, is nothing. It lifts the entire squad having the likes of Du Toit and Willemse setting the example.

Papier is back

There is also a recall for scrumhalf Embrose Papier. The Bulls man enjoyed a superb United Rugby Championship campaign and has earned another shot after winning seven Test caps in 2018.

It’s never been fully explained why he was in the international wilderness for so long, because 2026 hasn’t been Papier’s only good season in the intervening eight years since his last Test appearances.

When Papier takes the field at Loftus this weekend, 2,786 days would have passed between Test appearances. He was 21 when he last played a Test on 24 November 2018. He is now 29.

Erasmus did not delve into the finer details of Papier’s long absence. He simply referenced the obvious: that the Bok management went with Faf de Klerk, Cobus Reinach, Jaden Hendrikse and Herschel Jantjies after 2019. Which is something we all could see.

“There were really a bunch of good nines playing well, and sometimes it’s not because one player is not playing well enough or is not Springbok class,” said Erasmus. “It’s just because there’s some other guys who’re also playing really well. But I think none of us can look past the fact with how well Embrose played this year. There’s been some injuries, and there’s some guys who lost form, and he gathered form, if I can call it that way.

“I’m very happy for him personally and obviously, for us, it’s nice to have him on board. He gets his opportunity at home with Handré, who he’s played a lot of rugby with. So hopefully that also helps him, at a field he is familiar with.”

With Willemse’s switch to inside centre, Aphelele Fassi has another chance to impress from fullback.

Fassi has shown glimpses of brilliance in his Test career and only untimely injuries have hampered his development in the role.

Wing Edwill van der Merwe will make only his sixth Test appearance. Three weeks ago he scored a hat-trick against the Barbarians and has already scored five tries in Test rugby.

With Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse rested this week, Van der Merwe can enhance his reputation. Canan Moodie is picked on the left wing after a strong cameo from the bench at Ellis Park.

Moodie has been on the winning side in 21 of the 23 Tests he has featured in for the Boks, scoring nine tries.

De Villiers goes again

After his Saturday morning call-up to start against England, openside flank Paul de Villiers will start again. He was always set to start the Scotland game, but Kolisi’s hamstring injury opened the door sooner than expected, and De Villiers took his chance well.

It was his first-minute breakdown work that earned the Boks their first penalty against England, which led to the opening try of the match for Thomas du Toit.

De Villiers said although he was surprised, the Bok management prepares players to expect the unexpected.

“I heard I was going to start this morning [Saturday],” said De Villiers after the England clash.

“I had some time to make sure I was mentally ready and that I actually know what’s going on. The management preps us because stuff like this can happen. So I was ready for it. Maybe not as ready as the others were, but I had enough time to get my head around it and settle in. I think for the first Test it was probably better because I didn’t have a full week to stress about it.”

The changes to the Boks’ forward pack see Boan Venter, Johan Grobbelaar and Wilco Louw form the front row, while Cobus Wiese will partner Ruan Nortje at lock.

Evan Roos will start at No 8.

The replacements bench features a split of six forwards and two backs, with Jan-Hendrik Wessels joining up with Ntuthuko Mchunu and Zach Porthen in the front row, while Ben-Jason Dixon, Vincent Tshituka and Elrigh Louw will provide additional forward cover. The two backline players on the bench are Grant Williams and Quan Horn.

South Africa: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian Willemse, 11 Canan Moodie, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Embrose Papier, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (captain), 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Ruan Nortje, 4 Cobus Wiese, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Boan Venter.
Reserves: 16 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Zach Porthen, 19 Ben-Jason Dixon, 20 Vincent Tshituka, 21 Elrigh Louw, 22 Grant Williams, 23 Quan Horn. DM