@Springboks
Cameron Hanekom of the Vodacom Bulls earned his first call-up to the Springbok squad on Sunday after being drafted into the 35-man squad for the Castle Lager Outgoing Tour.
Hanekom, a former Junior Springbok who has been in sublime form for the Bulls this year, was a member of the Springbok alignment camps earlier in the season, and replaces Willemse who has a groin injury picked up in Saturday's DHL Stormers 28-17 defeat against the Glasgow Warriors in Stellenbosch.
Willemse’s withdrawal follows that of utility forward Jan-Hendrik Wessels earlier this week due to an ankle injury, which resulted in the call-ups of Johan Grobbelaar (hooker) and Wilco Louw (prop).
Bok coach Rassie Erasmus admitted that while the loss of Willemse was a blow, Hanekom’s call-up was well deserved after knocking on the door for the last season.
“Damian has been in great form the DHL Stormers since returning from injury and we feel for him after missing out on all 10 Test matches this season due to a finger injury,” he said.
“But as was the case with Wilco and Johan’s call-up, we are excited to see what Cameron brings to the team. He was in the group of players included in our alignment camps earlier in the year, so he’s familiar with some of our structures and the Springbok ethos, and we have no doubt he will grab this opportunity with both hands.
Erasmus added: “We are comfortable with the depth and versatility we have among the backs in the squad, so we decided to include another forward to add to our loose forward stocks.”
The Springboks will depart on Sunday for a training camp in Jersey in the Channel Islands before travelling to Edinburgh on Sunday 3 November for their opening Test of the tour.
The Boks will face Scotland in Edinburgh (Sunday 10 November), England in London (Saturday 16 November), and Wales in Cardiff (Saturday 23 November) on their traditional end-of-year tour.
