The DHL Stormers have shed some light on Clayton Blommetjies’ absence from their touring squad by saying he is getting married, but it may not just be the fullback who is smiling because of his betrothal.
Blommetjies was not in the 28-man squad that left Cape Town for Italy on Monday night, which raised some eyebrows as he has been in good form since swopping the No 15 jersey of the Toyota Cheetahs with that of the Stormers, and in terms of playing style looks a good replacement for Warrick Gelant.
By staying home to tie the knot, Blommetjies is unintentionally helping both teammate Damian Willemse and the Springbok management, who could benefit from having Willemse play a clutch of games at fullback in northern conditions ahead of next months end of year tour of Ireland, France, Italy and England.
Although Willemse was being used at flyhalf in the Castle Lager Rugby Championship games he played before being concussed late in the second against Argentina in Buenos Aires, thus forcing him to miss the competition decider against the Pumas in Durban, there is a strong possibility that he will be back at fullback during the tour.
The Vodacom Bulls’ Johan Goosen, now back to full fitness after a long injury layoff and also set to play some Vodacom United Rugby Championship games in Europe over the next few weeks, is regarded as one of three specialist flyhalves by Bok coach Jacques Nienaber.
Assuming that Elton Jantjies, ranked second among the pivots at the start of the southern hemisphere international season, will miss the tour out of the concerns for his mental health that kept him out of consideration for the Durban test against the Pumas, Goosen should be in line to wear the No 10.
That would mean Willemse returning to the position he played as a starter for most of the Championship season and before that in the series against Wales, meaning the last line of defence. It was also the role he was supposed to fill on the last end of year tour 11 months ago, but was prevented from doing so by an injury early in the opening match of the tour against Wales in Cardiff.
With fullback the more likely position for Willemse to occupy at next year’s Rugby World Cup in France, the forthcoming tour will be an excellent opportunity for the Stormers player to get the chance to get the feel of the conditions that he missed out on in 2021.
And getting a chance to prepare for northern hemisphere test matches by playing in those conditions just a few weeks ahead of the tour is even better still.
It is certainly a better scenario for the Bok coaches than the alternative of him playing in the midfield, which given the availability of centres is the position of the three that he plays (fullback, centre, flyhalf) where he is least likely to be needed by the Boks.
Willemse is not the only fullback option the Stormers have with them on their three match tour that starts with a clash with Zebre in Parma on Saturday before proceeding to Wales, where the Cape team will face the Ospreys and Cardiff. Sacha Mngomezulu, who is also the flyhalf cover, can play there, while Manie Libbok also of course boasts experience in the No 15 jersey.
But Libbok has become the settled flyhalf since moving to the Stormers from the Sharks and is unlikely to be shifted by coach John Dobson unless there is an emergency that demands it.
Willemse moving to fullback from inside centre to accommodate the physical former Samoan international Alapati Leuia seems the obvious route to take.
Whether Blommetjies may fly out to play later games on tour is open to question for that has not been explained by the Stormers management, with Dobson saying after the win over Edinburgh at the weekend that his “panzer division”, meaning first choice props Steven Kitshoff and Frans Malherbe, might join later on tour.
But from a national viewpoint three games for Willemse at fullback it would be the perfect way for him to warm-up for the big test matches that are now just a matter of weeks away.