Damian Willemse should have been entrusted with the goalkicking duties for the Springboks against France in Marseilles if the Bok coaches are serious about developing him as the most complete flyhalf in the Test squad.
Willemse can do everything, on attack and in defence. But somewhere along the line, since he turned professional perception has turned to fact and the consensus that Willemse is not a goalkicker.
A similar thing was said and written of South Africa’s points-scoring record-holder Percy Montgomery in his first few seasons of Test rugby. Montgomery wasn’t the first choice goalkicker for Western Province or the Stormers back in the late 1990s because there were other kickers in the starting line-up who were deemed specialist kickers. Montgomery, though, was a goalkicker throughout his school career for SACS. Ditto Willemse for Paul Roos. Willemse can kick conversions, penalties and drop goals. He can nail clutch kicks, as we saw when he stepped up to beat Wales with the final kick of the game in the Springboks' season-opening win in Pretoria.
What has happened to Willemse is exactly what happened to Montgomery. They were both good enough to make teams without having to do so as the primary goalkicker, at provincial, regional and Test level. But when the starting Test kickers fluffed their lines, both were asked to do a job and both were inconsistent. It was not their primary focus at the time. Montgomery missed two conversions against the British & Irish Lions in an 18-15 second Test defeat in Durban in 1997. The Boks scored three tries to nil and Neil Jenkins kicked five from five penalties and Jeremy Guscott won the match with a drop goal. Montgomery, who scored one of the tries, was castigated for shanking two kicks, but veterans Henry Honiball and Andre Joubert also missed kicks in that Test.
In Montgomery’s first 50 Tests, he kicked for goal in 17 of them. In his next 50 he was always the primary goalkicker and in the 2007 World Cup final he didn’t miss a kick in nailing four penalties, with two of them coming after he had torn knee ligaments.
Bok coach Jacques Nienaber, in defending the choice of Kolbe as starting goalkicker, raved about Kolbe’s ability to kick in matches and said it was something he was used to and something Willemse was not used to.
Montgomery’s goalkicking strike rate at the World Cup in 2007 was 82%. England’s Jonny Wilkinson, among the most revered goalkickers in Test history, ended with a 60% success rate at that World Cup.
It was only when Jake White took over as Bok coach in 2004 that Montgomery was given the responsibility of first-choice kicker. White told Montgomery he was his starting No 15 and his first-choice kicker and that to stay his starting No 15, he expected his goalkicking accuracy to be 75%-plus. The player delivered because it became a primary role to be considered a starter.
Bok coach Jacques Nienaber, in defending the choice of Kolbe as starting goalkicker, raved about Kolbe’s ability to kick in matches and said it was something he was used to and something Willemse was not used to. Now for a reality check for the national coach. Kolbe, in 217 first class matches, has kicked three penalties, one drop goal and 11 conversions. In 23 Tests he has kicked one penalty. He kicked no points in 46 matches for Western Province. He kicked no points for Toulon in 17 matches. He kicked just two penalties and four conversions from the tee in 82 matches for Toulouse and his most prolific season was seven conversions for the Stormers in 2017 — the only season in which he kicked for goal in 49 matches.
Willemse, in a career of 100-plus matches less, has kicked 60 conversions, two drop goals and 39 penalties. (stats courtesy of itsrugby.co.uk) Willemse offers so much variation and dimension at No 10 for the Springboks that, win or bust for now, the kicking tee should have been his for the 80 minutes against France and not Kolbe’s, because if the perception, created by Nienaber is that Kolbe is used to it, the reality is that Willemse is a lot more used to it.
It would have sent a message from the coaches to Willemse, like White did to Montgomery, that he is the future for the Boks at No 10 but to be that future he needs to be the goalkicker. Instead, it was a cop out from the national coach based on a blatant lie about Kolbe’s first-class goalkicking record.
Mark Keohane is the founder of keo.co.za, a multiple award-winning sports writer and the content director at Habari Media. Twitter: @mark_keohane
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