Henry Pollock's recent clash with disappointed opponents from Leicester during halftime reminded the author of Duane Vermeilain's playful suggestion earlier this year to return from retirement for five minutes to play against a young England player in July.
This incident also brought back memories of an interview with Vermeilain conducted several years ago, which confirmed that these two men are fundamentally different. Vermeilain obviously did not have privileges at birth.
Vermeilain started playing rugby at the age of seven. He did so barefoot in the middle of winter snow in De-Duursend, in the heart of the Western Cape's wine region. At the time, Duane had recently moved to the cold Cape from his hometown of Nelspruit, one of the warmest regions in the country. Being significantly younger than the other players, his small feet trembled during the break. He wanted to come out, but instead, he rubbed his soles with 'Deep Heat' and continued playing.
This was just the beginning for a player who grew into a powerful South African national team fighter. He was nicknamed Thor, The Rock, and Great Duane. It was also at the age of seven that he lost his father to illness and was forced to take responsibility for his family.
Vermeilain recalls: 'When my father died, my mother had a hard time. She worked two jobs to support us. She left early in the morning, and I had to help my sister. I did her hair. She went to school with strange buns, but we managed.' He continues: 'My father played club rugby and played for Boland. I remember how much he loved rugby, and when he died, I decided to go as far as possible in this sport to please him. I knew he was watching from above. I also wanted to make my mother proud.'
This little boy from De-Duursend eventually became one of the most formidable players for the South African national team. However, even by his standards, his return to international rugby at the 2015 World Cup was outstanding. The famous match where Japan beat the 'Boks' in their first game led coach Heineke Meier to say that if there was anything he would change, it would be Vermeilain's selection for that game.
The recipient of the 2014 'South African Player of the Year' award did not play that year after a serious neck injury while playing for the Stormers in Super Rugby. His cervical vertebrae were connected in a hospital in Durban, followed by three months of careful recovery before the World Cup. Despite expectations of an easy victory over the 'Brave Blossoms', he was not included in the squad. To give him another week of recovery, Meier selected Peter-Steph du Toit at flanker on the blind side, Shalqe Burger was moved to number 8, and Francois Roux completed the trio of reserves. Japan's fast play exposed the imbalance in this trio.
Meier condemned his mistake and fielded Vermeilain the following week against tough men at Villa Park in Birmingham. He played all 84 minutes in a 46-6 defeat to the physically strongest team in the world. It was a match worthy of the 'Man of the Match' award in his first rugby after almost a broken neck. The 'Boks' also presented a private award—a hunting knife—to the player who, in their opinion, demonstrated the greatest presence in defense. Vermeilain won this award too.
During Meier's coaching tenure, Vermeilain won so many such knives that Shalqe Burger once joked that Vermeilain could open a gun shop.
After the match against Samoa, Vermeilain noted: 'I wanted to be thrown into deep water. I told the coach about it. I don't want to do trifles on the bench. I knew Samoa would bring out the best in me because I thrive in confrontation. There is an Afrikaans word I like, it's called 'vasbyt'—I can't translate it, but it's something like 'perseverance'. '
Vermeilain possesses an infectious fighting spirit. He becomes the rallying point when things get tough, and his way of breaking through the gain line with the ball in hand and diving into tackles with reckless courage is incredibly inspiring.
When the 'Boks' beat England in the 2019 World Cup final, Vermeilain received the 'Man of the Match' award. In the weeks following the 32-12 victory, Vermeilain shared wonderful thoughts on how the World Cup was won. In his book 'Stronger Together,' he wrote: 'In our squad of 33 players, perhaps four grew up in a 'normal' family environment, without experiencing daily hardships. For the vast majority, this was not reality. Whether in childhood or adulthood, we experienced the kind of trauma that distorts and shapes every cell of ours. Some lost a parent or sibling. Some had no one. Many were forced to become a father figure in a family that depended on them, even if they weren't ready for it.' He added: 'And yet, despite their difficulties, they had the discipline and dedication to succeed in a team environment that rewarded them with the Webb Ellis Cup.'
Vermeilain noted that the players understood that they were united by factors beyond rugby skills. 'I will only confidently go into battle with people who have nothing to lose,' Vermeilain stated. 'These are people who pour their soul into the fight, who tell fate to hell—I am the master of my destiny. When Rasile selects the team, he selects character, or what he calls the 'warrior gene'.' He explained that 'he selects players with a 'never give up' attitude, for whom the struggle for survival and redemption was the default setting from an early age. A coach can teach you to pass and kick the ball, but the warrior gene cannot be instilled in someone who doesn't have it. And this character, this golden thread, ran through our entire squad.'
Vermeilain explains that when Rasile took over as coach in 2018, he was dissatisfied that the players spoke too easily about playing to inspire struggling South Africans. Rasile told the players that they had to earn the right to do so by becoming a winning team. 'South Africa won the World Cup thanks to a squad of men who understood what it meant to fight for something they believed in. This fight was to become the best team in the world. Only then would we have the right to inspire others. We were asked to step out of the spotlight and into the shadow, where champions are separated from mere contenders. And we did it.'
For Vermeilain, the warrior gene did not appear automatically upon putting on the South African national team jersey; he forged it long before he put it on.
This column is based on a chapter from Mike Greenaway's bestseller 'The Fireside Springbok.'
