Veteran Springbok No 8, Duane Vermeulen, who will pack down at flanker this weekend in a loose trio with skipper Siya Kolisi and No 8 Jasper Wiese, said he will definitely consider a coaching career following his retirement as a player.
Vermeulen said he would like to give back to the younger guys: “You never know. If you had asked me this a couple of years ago, I would have probably said no. But when you finish, you want to give back to the younger guys. If the opportunity arises, if there is a possibility, then I would love to stay in the game. I would like to help younger guys, younger players.
“You never know where life takes you. But I love this game and it is difficult to step away when you have been in it for so long. It has been 19 years of playing professionally. It has been a good ride and it is not the end yet. So, hopefully, there is more to come.”
Vermeulen said he enjoyed spending the match against Ireland next to the coaching staff in the box: “It was crazy. As the coaches already said, they gave opportunities to players to sit in coaching meetings. Everyone is welcome to sit in these meetings. They also give some players the opportunity to come up in the coaching box.
“We see and watch the game from a different angle. We also see how the coaches look at the game and it brings you a different perspective to the game as a player. Players think about the game differently as coaches during this specific time so, for us, it is a nice dynamic.
“It makes us learn a little bit and shows us how we might think about the game. [Against Ireland] we knew what we wanted to do and achieve, and we had our opportunities. Being up there is also daunting, but I enjoyed it. It was good fun. But I would rather be on the pitch tomorrow. I love it, that is the most important thing. That is what it is all about.”
“The strangest thing was to be sitting there and unable to do anything. When you are on the pitch, you are part of the game, and you can still make it change. You can change the outcome of the game.
“But when you are at the top, you give the players the info on what you want and what you see, but it is still up to the players on the field. That is the difficult part of being a coach. You can’t do anything about the outcome of the game."