John Dobson reveals Damian Willemse’s role in contentious wing selection
Damian Willemse and an inset of Stormers head coach John Dobson
Stormers boss John Dobson has revealed the reason why Damian Willemse will lineup on the wing against Edinburgh this weekend.
A swiss-army knife of a player, Willemse has become an instrumental figure in the Stormers and Springboks set-up with his ability to chop and change positions, plugging holes in-game or starting in several positions like full-back, fly-half and centre.
Still, few would have predicted that he’d be lining up in the number 14 jumper against Edinburgh on Saturday at the Cape Town Stadium, replacing Seabelo Senatla on the wing for the fixture.
The selection call is the starkest of the lot despite Dobson making a plethora of changes throughout his starting XV, keeping in mind there is just a six-day turnaround from the victory over the Dragons to this weekend’s encounter.
Why Willemse is on the wing
Speaking to the media, having named his team for the match, Dobson accepted that the decision was bound to draw criticism, particularly if it didn’t work out, but explained that it was a tactical call and one that Willemse actually played a role in.
He cited Edinburgh’s tactical kicking prowess as a major reason for the selection with Willemse’s aerial ability being a trademark of his game. Additionally, shifts in the Stormers‘ tactical approach in the back-three means that the wing and full-back roles are more interchangeable than before.
“Firstly, it was a collaboration with Damian and ourselves, looking at how Edinburgh play with kicking contestables,’ said Dobson. “He looked at how Edinburgh play and what they bring, and he actually came to us and said, ‘What are we going to do about it?’
“We’re expecting a very big contestable kicking game. Edinburgh [13th on the table] are in last-chance saloon and I think if you come to play the Stormers at seven o’clock at night in autumn, it’s going in the air. And that’s what we have to be ready for.
“Also, we’ve done a lot of work with our contestable game. I think one of the rewards that we got last week was the amount of scraps we won, how we did there.
“We’ve changed the system there, where the full-back and wings roles are slightly different. Before, the traditional picture you see in a contestable is that full-back running up with nothing behind him. Now, there are variations you can do around that, which might require the wing to get in the air. That role has become a little bit more interchangeable than it was.
He added that there is ‘nobody better than Damian in that role’.
John Dobson rolls the dice with Damian Willemse starting in a brand new role
Dobson’s comments link to the change in the kicking laws that World Rugby implemented two years ago where they removed the catching team’s ability to form an ‘escort’ which blocked the access to the ball for the chasing side and created a safety glove for the receiving player to catch the ball without a contest.
Now, there is very much a contest for the ball, meaning that wingers in particular have to be competent in the air.
“We saw the stats from the World Rugby conference, which showed a 14% increase in contested kicks over the last year,” he said. “And we’ve seen from the Six Nations, the transitions over scraps and with balls bouncing around there.”
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Vellacott impact
While Edinburgh have had their struggles this season, they remain a tactically astute team, particularly when it comes to their kicking game.
Charlie Shiel is their starting scrum-half this week but Dobson singled out replacement number nine Ben Vellacott as a real threat and played a role in the collaborative decision to pick Willemse on the wing.
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“Damian has told us for years that he will start where the team needs him,” Dobson added.
“He actually came to us and said this Vellacott thing, what are we going to do about it, and he offered [to play on the wing].
“He is just one of the great Stormers, detail, playing, whatever. So, I’m sure people are going to say, ‘Oh, I’m messing Damian around’. But Damian has completely bought into this plan, contributed to the plan, and can have some of the credit for the plan.
“I hope it just comes off because obviously it’s one of those things, if it doesn’t come off, we are really going to take a bit of heat.”
