Damian Willemse makes blunt Springboks admission after All Blacks series win
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Admission.
Damian Willemse has made a blunt admission about the Springboks’ early struggles against the All Blacks after South Africa recovered to claim a famous 3-1 series victory.
The Boks completed the job with a 43-28 victory in Baltimore on Saturday, having recovered from defeat in the opening Test at Ellis Park to win three matches in a row.
Willemse, who returned at fullback for the injured Cheslin Kolbe after missing the third Test with a hamstring problem, believes the manner in which South Africa responded throughout the series can give them plenty of confidence going forward.
“We expected a tough game against New Zealand; being 2-1 down, they wanted to fire us up and draw this series,” Willemse said.
“How we reacted after half-time when they scored that try: we stuck to our guns, made plans. I’m proud of everyone in the team.
“We’re super stoked and happy with the series win. This really means a lot to all of us.”
However, Willemse admitted things looked very different following the opening Test, with several areas of the Springboks’ game requiring significant improvement.
“After the first Test, taking that loss, there were parts of our game that we had to work on,” he said.
“We got momentum and opportunities which we didn’t finish, and as the series went along, we got better.
“The attack wasn’t really there; the breakdown was a bit of a shambles … certain areas of our game that we had to work hard on.”
Willemse credited Rassie Erasmus and his coaching staff with finding the answers required to turn things around, with the Springboks going on to win the remaining three Tests.
“Credit to the coaching staff and how they came up with plans and solutions and got us going again and gave us belief.
“For a lot of the guys, this is the first big series for them. We’ll take a lot of positives and confidence from this, and we’ll just keep on growing and building our game.”
The victory adds another major honour to Willemse’s collection alongside his Rugby World Cup, Rugby Championship and British & Irish Lions series successes.
But the 28-year-old insisted the latest achievement belongs to far more than the players who took the field during the four-Test series.
“Whenever you run out to represent the Springboks, and you’ve got the Springbok on your heart, you want to go out there and make everyone proud.
“This doesn’t only belong to us; it belongs to South Africa as well.”
The Springboks now have a week away from Test action before turning their attention to the Wallabies in Perth on September 27.
