Damian Willemse

Damian Willemse has started Tests for the Springboks at fly-half, inside centre and fullback, and there is a reasonable argument that the versatility has cost him a settled position.

He arrived as a schoolboy prodigy — the sort of player South African rugby identifies early and then watches closely for a decade. What he became is something more useful and less glamorous: a back who can cover three positions to Test standard in a matchday 23 where South Africa have made bench composition a tactical weapon.

That has real value in a squad built around a 6-2 or 7-1 split, where a single back must cover multiple roles. It has also meant he has rarely had a run of matches in one shirt.

His best rugby has come at fullback, where the counter-attacking and the long left boot are most useful, and at 12, where his distribution gives South Africa a second playmaker.

He came through Western Province and the Stormers and was part of the 2019 and 2023 World Cup-winning squads.

He is still only in his late twenties. The question has never been whether he is good enough — it is which shirt he is good enough in.