‘God of Thunder’ to face All Blacks
Johannesburg: The Springboks have negotiated the surprise release of dynamic No. 8 Duane Vermeulen to bolster their ranks for the Wellington test against the All Blacks. Coach Rassie Erasmus wants to fly Vermeulen in from his Japan base for the New Zealand test on September 15 that comes a week after the Boks play Australia in Brisbane.
Sport24 report that Vermeulen’s Japanese club Kubota Spears will agree to the request despite an earlier understanding that the player known as “God of Thunder” would miss the Rugby Championship and only resume his test career on the end of year tour of Europe.
The Kubota Spears are coached by South African Frans Ludeke who previously took the Bulls to their 2009 and 2010 Super Rugby titles.
Man-mountain Vermeulen hasn’t played the All Blacks since the gripping 2015 World Cup semifinal in England, won 20-18 by New Zealand.
Vermeulen, 32, has only played seven tests since the last World Cup as his moves to France and then Japan limited his international play.
But Erasmus, who walks a tightrope with offshore club coaches where so many of his top players ply their trade, wants Vermuelen increasingly involved for next year’s World Cup in Japan. He played Vermeulen in all three June tests of the home series won against England.
Vermeulen produced a man-of-the-match performance in the second test as the Boks took the series.
He sees the 118kg No 8’s power and physicality as ideal for the challenge of taking on the All Blacks and with the Boks having injury problems in the loose forward department an SOS has gone out to Japan.