Duane Vermeulen watched South Africa lose to Ireland in an epic World Cup Pool B match, sitting next to Rassie Erasmus in the coaches’ box for the heartbreaking defeat.

As director of rugby, Erasmus and head coach Jacques Nienaber actively encourage Springbok players to attend coach meetings and, in this instance, to move to the tribune.

“It’s good for us as coaches to sometimes have a player there because they give us a different perspective of how our communication is within the team,” said Nienaber.

“They get a sense of the sometimes frustration that coaches are under in a coaches’ box. That grows them as a player.”

Vermeulen, who was man-of-the-match as South Africa defeated England in the 2019 World Cup final, described watching the Irish’s 13-8 defeat as “crazy” from the coaches’ box.

“It was nice to be up there, but it’s also daunting to be up there. I actually enjoyed it, it was good fun,” said the 37-year-old.

The strong backrow forward described the interaction between coaches and players as “a nice dynamic.”

“We learn a little bit, but they also see how we might think about the game.”

But Vermeulen, who has played club rugby for Toulon, Kubota Spears and Ulster, outside South Africa, added: “I would definitely love to be on the pitch, that’s the most important thing, that’s what it’s all about.

“The worst thing was just sitting there and you can’t do anything. When you’re on the pitch you’re still part of the game, you can still make a change or change the outcome of the game.

“At the top, you give the players the info and what you want and what you see, then it’s up to the guys on the field.

“I would still prefer to be on the pitch as much as I can!”

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