Fleck: Willemse ready for Test rugby

Stormers coach Robbie Fleck believes that 19-year-old flyhalf Damian Willemse is ready to make the step up to Test rugby. JON CARDINELLI reports.

Willemse scored 17 points in the Stormers’ 37-20 win against the Blues at Newlands. A couple of days later, former Bok coach Jake White hailed Willemse as the ‘real deal’ and said that the youngster must play for the national side sooner rather than later.

Fleck agrees that good enough is old enough and with the right management, Willemse could become an asset to the Boks in the lead-up to the 2019 World Cup, and beyond.

‘The guys around Damian are helping him a lot, and that’s allowing him to play his natural game,’ said the Stormers coach. ‘With Dewaldt Duvenage, Dillyn Leyds, Damian de Allende and EW Viljoen there, it’s helping Damian a great deal. That’s allowing him to play with freedom. I would expect the same to happen when we play the Reds on the weekend.

‘I’ve always believed in backing a player who is good enough. Damian has the talent as well as the mindset. I don’t think he would be overawed by the responsibility at Test level, provided you surround him with the right people.

‘It’s such a key position. He’s a young kid, and I would imagine that if he is called up by [Bok coach] Rassie Erasmus, he would be managed correctly. He would play against “easier” opposition initially. They would manage his game time and avoid putting him in difficult situations. They would surround him with senior players.’

Fleck said that many of the Stormers’ opponents have noted the progress of the youngster over the past year or so. According to Fleck, Willemse impressed the Chiefs when they visited Cape Town last year for a quarter-final.

‘All the New Zealand coaches, they think he’s a star in the making,’ he said, ‘The Chiefs put him under pressure in that playoff with good line speed. He couldn’t play his natural game, but he didn’t do too badly.

‘He’s improved a lot since then. Big time. He’s taking a lot more control, deciding when to attack nice and flat or to give early ball to his outside backs or to look for kicking space.

‘He’s managing the game a lot better. That is the biggest challenge for any flyhalf, managing the game, even when you are going backwards and you are under pressure.

‘He’s not there yet,’ Fleck added. ‘He’s a work in progress. But one cannot deny that he has grown a great deal and that he is a tremendous talent.’