Damian Willemse
Damian Willemse is a South African professional rugby union player who represents the South Africa internationally and plays domestically for the Stormers in the United Rugby Championship and Western Province in the Currie Cup. Primarily a fullback, he is noted for his versatility and has also regularly featured at fly-half and inside centre. Willemse was a member of South Africa's 2019 Rugby World Cup and 2023 Rugby World Cup winning squads, becoming the youngest player to win the tournament twice.
Imagem: Stefano Delfrate · BY-SA · Openverse
Willemse was born in Strand to Francois (“Fanie”) Willemse and Charlotte Willemse (née Samuels). He grew up alongside his brother Ramone Samuels, who took their mother’s surname. Willemse attended Somerset West Methodist Primary School, where his rugby union talent was identified and nurtured by his influential teacher and coach, Winston Baard. He later enrolled at Paul Roos Gymnasium in Stellenbosch, one of South Africa’s leading rugby union schools, where he continued his development.
Schoolboy rugby
In 2014, Willemse was selected to represent Western Province at the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week in Pretoria. He started all three matches, helping his side achieve an unbeaten tournament, including scoring a try in Western Province's 26–11 victory over hosts the Blue Bulls in the final match. Willemse progressed to the Western Province Under-18 squad for the 2015 Craven Week, South Africa's premier schoolboy rugby union tournament. He again started all three matches, scoring tries in a 65–5 win over the Griffons and in the unofficial final, a dominant 95–0 victory over Eastern Province. His performances earned him selection for the South Africa Schools side for the 2015 Under-18 International Series. He featured in victories over Wales and France, and was an unused replacement against England as South Africa completed a series clean sweep.
Willemse signed with the DHL Stormers while completing his matric year at Paul Roos Gymnasium, with Business Day describing him as “the undisputed schoolboy star of 2016” ahead of his rapid elevation to Super Rugby. He joined the senior squad for pre-season training immediately after writing his matric exams. While still at school, Willemse also appeared for the Western Province U19 team in the 2016 Under-19 Provincial Championship. He featured as a replacement in three of their final four regular-season matches, scoring a try on debut at this level against the Sharks U19s, and kicking conversions in matches against the Leopards U19s and the Blue Bulls U19s. His contributions helped Western Province finish top of the log heading into the play-offs. He was promoted to the starting line-up for their 30–15 semi-final victory over Free State U19, and also started the final, where Western Province lost 19–60 to the Golden Lions U19s.
2017-19: Stormers and Western Province
Only months after finishing school, Willemse was included in the Stormers squad for the 2017 Super Rugby season. He was included in a matchday squad for their Round Three match against the Southern Kings on 4 March, and he made his Super Rugby debut – aged just 18 years, 301 days – by coming on in the 78th minute of the match. By July of that year, Willemse was already being described as a "top talent" with his acceleration, evasive ability and confidence in taking on the defensive line being praised. Willemse made his Currie Cup debut for Western Province during the 2017 Currie Cup Premier Division, quickly establishing himself as a key member of the squad. On 1 October 2017, he kicked a decisive late penalty to secure a 46–45 victory over the Blue Bulls at Loftus Versfeld. Later that month, he started at fullback in the Currie Cup Final, contributing an off-load in the lead-up to a try as Western Province defeated the Sharks 33–21 to claim the title.
2019: Saracens
In September 2019, Willemse signed for Premiership club Saracens on a three-month deal to provide injury cover for Alex Goode and Max Malins. He made his debut for the club in the Premiership Cup against Wasps, providing a try assist in the second half. During his loan spell, he made two Premiership Cup appearances, playing against Wasps and the Sale Sharks, before being called into South Africa's squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. After the tournament he featured once more for Saracens, appearing in the European Rugby Champions Cup against Racing 92, before his loan ended and he returned to the Stormers.
2019-2021: Return to the Stormers and Western Province
Willemse began the 2020 Super Rugby season strongly, starting at fly-half for the Stormers. In the opening round on 2 February 2020, he scored an intercept try in a 27–0 victory over the Hurricanes at Newlands, contributing to a dominant defensive and attacking performance by the side. Willemse continued as the Stormers’ first-choice fly-half through the early rounds of the competition. His campaign was cut short in Round 7, when he sustained an injury while at fullback during the Stormers’ loss to the Sharks on 14 March 2020—the final match played before the season was suspended and later cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. When domestic rugby resumed later in the year under the Super Rugby Unlocked competition, Willemse returned to the Stormers’ starting lineup and shifted primarily between fly-half and fullback. He delivered a composed display in the Stormers’ 23–17 win over the Lions at Newlands, earning praise for his improved game management in directing the backline. One of his strongest performances came in a 30–13 victory over the Free State Cheetahs, where he contributed 15 points through two penalties, three conversions and a drop-goal, along with an off-load in the build-up to a try.
2021-2023: URC success
During the inaugural 2021–22 United Rugby Championship season, Willemse featured prominently in the Stormers’ title-winning campaign. In April 2022, he played a decisive role in a key late-season derby victory over the Bulls in Cape Town. Willemse landed a 70th-minute drop goal that stretched the Stormers’ lead during a tight contest, with the official match report describing it as “a vital drop goal ... to push their lead to nine points” in a 19–17 win. Willemse returned from injury for the semi-final on 11 June 2022 against Ulster, where he delivered one of his standout displays of the season. Despite carrying a heavily strapped arm, he produced an “outstanding” all-round performance with “serious metres” made on attack, earning the Man of the Match award. Head coach John Dobson highlighted Willemse's influence and commitment, noting that “if anybody oozes blue and white in their veins, bleeds blue and white, it's Damian Willemse,” after Willemse returned to play despite initial assessments following his quarter-final injury against Edinburgh suggesting he would miss the remainder of the season.
2023-Present
Willemse made his first appearance of the 2023–24 United Rugby Championship season in December 2023, starting at inside centre in the Stormers’ 31–7 victory over Zebre Parma in Stellenbosch. He also started later that month in the Stormers’ derby win over the Sharks, contributing in midfield as the team closed out their 2023 calendar year with a 16–15 victory. Willemse also featured for the Stormers in the Champions Cup, making four appearances as the team reached the Round of 16 before being eliminated by La Rochelle at DHL Stadium. His URC campaign ultimately consisted of 11 games and was cut short in May 2024 when he sustained a serious finger injury in the final round of the regular season against Connacht. The injury ruled him out for approximately four months and ended his participation in the remainder of the Stormers’ campaign. The Stormers were eliminated in the URC quarter-finals by eventual champions Glasgow Warriors.
Damian Willemse made his international debut for South Africa in the 2018 Rugby Championship against Argentina at Kings Park Stadium in a 34–21 victory, coming off the bench to replace André Esterhuizen. Willemse was not initially named in South Africa's squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. However, he was called up to replace the injured Jesse Kriel during the pool stage. He scored his first Test try against Canada, and South Africa went on to win the tournament, defeating England in the final. Willemse featured in all three Tests of the 2021 British & Irish Lions series for South Africa, appearing off the bench in the 66th, 67th and 68th minutes respectively. South Africa won the series 2–1. In July 2022, Willemse kicked a match-winning penalty after the hooter to seal a 32–29 victory over Wales at Loftus Versfeld, a moment widely noted for his composure under pressure. Later in the year he started at fly-half against England at Twickenham during the Springboks’ end-of-year tour, contributing two drop-goals in a 27–13 victory.
Test Match record
Pld = Games Played, W = Games Won, D = Games Drawn, L = Games Lost, Tri = Tries Scored, Pts = Points Scored
Willemse grew up in Strand, Western Cape, a coastal town on the outskirts of Cape Town. The area was significantly shaped by apartheid-era spatial planning policies, which displaced Black and Coloured communities and contributed to longstanding socio-economic challenges, including high unemployment and increased exposure to crime and gangsterism. Willemse has spoken about these conditions as part of his motivation for community involvement, and he has participated in local environmental and social initiatives in Strand. These have included beach clean-up campaigns and projects to plant trees in the area, with reports indicating that more than 500 trees were planted as part of these efforts. Through partnerships with organisations such as One Tree Planted and sponsors including Vida e Caffè and Adidas, Willemse has contributed to reforestation and environmental awareness initiatives in South Africa. He has also supported global climate-focused campaigns, and alongside teammate Siya Kolisi serves as an ambassador for Adidas’ Run for the Oceans programme.
