World Cup winner Willie: I owe everything to Wasps
THREE years before the most glorious night of his career, almost to the weekend, Willie le Roux was making a distinctly ignominious exit from the international scene.
With ten minutes remaining in Florence his number was up with the Springboks trailing by two points. The plucky Italians manfully defended their advantage to secure a first-ever victory over the rainbow nation.
The 20-18 reverse came just weeks after the Springboks suffered their heaviest home loss at the hands of New Zealand and a first defeat on English soil in ten years.
South African rugby was in crisis. And le Roux, with 41 caps to his name, was preparing for his next adventure and not looking back. A move to the Premiership to team up with title-chasing Wasps a sufficiently tantalising prospect to end his Test career, aged just 27.
It took time to settle after switching mid-season from Japanese club Canon Eagles. A shaky first few months in Black and Gold is best remembered for le Roux’s spill while partaking in a showboating leap over the line in a Heineken Champions Cup quarter-final loss to Leinster. The following month, he picked up a Premiership runners-up medal as Exeter Chiefs inflicted late heartbreak with an extra-time Gareth Steenson penalty.
Freed from the demands of international obligations, le Roux’s break from rugby after that chastening Twickenham defeat paved the way for a remarkable 2017/18 campaign. A colossal 21 try assists fired him into the Premiership’s team of the season and Wasps into the semifinals, where they were defeated by eventual champions Saracens.
It was form that new Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus, who replaced Allister Coetzee in February 2018, could not ignore. A change in selection policy followed and le Roux was one uncomfortable conversation with his club boss away from returning out of international exile, a yearand-a-half out from a World Cup.
Dai Young, a tight-head prop who earned 54 caps in a 12-year Wales and British and Irish Lions career, was the man who held the keys to the dream.
“You can’t stop anyone playing international rugby,” said the Wasps director of rugby. “I was lucky enough to play there myself so I know how much it means to people and I know how much it takes out of people, physically and mentally. I was more than happy to play a part.”
His 42nd Springboks cap arrived 18 months after the 41st, and seemingly final appearance for his country. Le Roux marked the occasion with his
11th Test try as Erasmus achieved his first victory in charge, coming from 21 points behind to defeat England 42-39 in Johannesburg. It was to the first of 12 Tests le Roux would play between June and November 2018, heavily impacting his availability for his employers Wasps, now struggling to repeat former glories with a squad ravaged by injuries and the likes of Danny Cipriani now at pastures new.
“When he came here he thought he was out of South Africa’s picture and he didn’t think he would play for South Africa again,” reflected Young. “Then they had a change of coach and showed interest in him, I was the first to say ‘not a problem.’ But, you came on the basis you’re not playing for South Africa we have to be sensible about it. He played more games than I was happy with, if I am totally honest with you. “In saying that it’s very hard to knock somebody wanting to play international rugby. There was no fall out, there was no animosity between us.”
Le Roux’s final season at Wasps was dogged by inconsistent form and rumours heavily linking him with a move away from the club. Speculation was replaced with confirmation in January this year before Toyota Verblitz
announced Willie would be returning to Japan to play his club rugby after the World Cup. Speaking in April 2018, le Roux stressed he ‘owed everything to Wasps.’
He said: “When I came here I thought my international career was over. I played one-and-a-half seasons at Wasps and we played some good rugby. Luckily I got seen by the coaching staff back home and I got another opportunity to play for my country. That makes a big difference. “I owe everything to Wasps, because if I didn’t come here and play that rugby they wouldn’t have seen me. So thanks to Dai and everyone who gave me the opportunity to go out there and play and enjoy, express yourselves. That made it easy. I was lucky to get another call back to go and play for South Africa.”
Le Roux has featured in all-but five of the Springboks’ last 25 Tests, culminating in helping them to lift their third World Cup at England’s expense. His time at Wasps was filled with thrilling highs and desperate lows, but his former boss Young believes the experience was essential in rounding off his game to become a world beater.
“At the end of the day, seeing him winning the World Cup final with a big smile on his face was great,” said Young. “He had a bit of an up and down couple of seasons here. He was either very good, or very bad, pretty much, in games. He’s got that rare quality of a player who is always going to try something, if it comes off it looks great, if it doesn’t it doesn’t look so great.
“It was great to see him playing, and it was great to think that we played a part in getting him back to what he wanted to do. He was complimentary about some of the things he learned in the Premiership, the high ball, which he probably didn’t get enough of in Super Rugby. It was great to feel we played a bit of a part in that.”