Schalk Burger has put Damian Willemse above every other player in the game today, on one condition.
“When he’s on form, for what he provides and how low the error rate is, there’s no better rugby player in the world,” the former Springboks flanker said on The Verdict.
Is Damian Willemse the best player in the world right now? Tell us in the comments.
What does Burger rate most about Damian Willemse?
The mistakes he does not make, more than the sidestep.
“The most amazing thing is, for a player who’s got all that skill set, is how small his error rate is,” Burger said.
He then compared Willemse with the other gifted playmaker in the Springboks backline, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. “On error rates, not even a competition,” Burger said.
That came in a week when Feinberg-Mngomezulu scored 26 points against Italy. Burger was not running the fly-half down. His argument is that flair usually comes with turnovers, and in Willemse’s case it does not.
How good has Willemse’s career been?
He made his Test debut against Argentina in Durban in August 2018, aged 20, and has won two World Cups since, the second at 25. Host Jean de Villiers said Willemse is “probably at the peak at the moment”. He started at fullback in Turin and scored one of the nine tries in the 66–7 win.
Is he the best in contact, too?
Burger thinks he might be. “Have we ever seen a better player in close-quarter contact?” he asked.
De Villiers offered Cheslin Kolbe as the comparison and drew a line between them: Kolbe beats defenders from distance, Willemse does it with a tackler already on him.
Hanyani Shimange pointed to the win over New Zealand in Wellington as the match to watch for proof.
What is the case against?
“When he’s on form” carries weight in Burger’s sentence. Willemse has moved between fullback, fly-half and centre for most of his career, and injuries have cost him long spells. The best player in the world usually owns one jersey.
Burger sees the versatility as part of the claim. Others will say it is why Willemse is rarely named in these debates.
Our view
We would not put him first. Antoine Dupont decides more matches, and Willemse has never had a full season in one position to make the case. Burger’s narrower point holds up, though. Among players who try the difficult thing as often as Willemse does, very few give the ball away so rarely, and that is why Rassie Erasmus has used him in three positions.
What happens next
The Springboks play France at the Stade de France on Friday 13 November.
Quotes from The Verdict, Boks Unpacked X The Verdict, published 10 November 2026, from 28:52. Watch the episode.
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