South Africa's Damian Willemse catches the ball during the Captain's Run of the South African team at The Cape Town Stadium in Cape Town on July 23, 2021, ahead of the rugby union first Test match between South Africa and the British and Irish Lions Cameron Hanekom was called up to the Springbok squad after Damian Willemse was ruled out of the Springbok tour. Picture: Steve Haag/POOL/AFP
Cameron Hanekom earned his first call-up to the Springbok squad on Sunday after being drafted into Rassie Erasmus’ 35-man squad for their November tour following the withdrawal of utility back Damian Willemse due to a groin injury.
Hanekom, a former Junior Springbok who has been in top form for the Bulls this year, was a member of the Springbok alignment camps earlier in the season.
Willemse sustained the injury while scoring a try for the Stormers in their 28-17 defeat against the Glasgow Warriors in Stellenbosch, in the United Rugby Championship on Saturday.
The Springbok squad now includes 20 forwards and 15 backs. Willemse’s withdrawal follows that of utility forward Jan-Hendrik Wessels earlier this week due to an ankle injury, which resulted in the call-ups of Johan Grobbelaar (hooker) and Wilco Louw (prop).
Erasmus admitted that while the loss of Willemse was a blow, Hanekom’s call-up was well deserved after knocking on the door for the last season.
“Damian has been in great form the DHL Stormers since returning from injury and we feel for him after missing out on all 10 Test matches this season due to a finger injury,” said Erasmus.
“But as was the case with Wilco and Johan’s call-up, we are excited to see what Cameron brings to the team. He was in the group of players included in our alignment camps earlier in the year, so he’s familiar with some of our structures and the Springbok ethos, and we have no doubt he will grab this opportunity with both hands.”
Erasmus added: “We are comfortable with the depth and versatility we have among the backs in the squad, so we decided to include another forward to add to our loose forward stocks.”
The Springboks will depart for a training camp in Jersey, the largest of the largest of the Channel Islands between England and France, on Sunday. The group will then make the journey to Edinburgh on November 3for their opening Test of the tour.
The Boks will face Scotland in Edinburgh (November 10), England in London (November 16) and Wales in Cardiff (November 23) on their traditional end-of-year tour.
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