Cameron Hanekom was still in the school benches at Paarl Boys High when his idol and the legendary Springboks No 8 Duane Vermeulen produced a Man-of-the-Match display in 2019 World Cup final against England.
But after Vermeulen retired from the game after winning his second World Cup medal in France in 2023, many people talked up Hanekom as a like-for-like replacement for the former Bok bruiser.
Hanekom is powerful and dynamic with ball in hand, while he is also a tough-tackling defender. Like Vermeulen, the Bulls No 8 is also very good at the breakdown and has the ability to steal his fair share of balls on the ground.
On Saturday, when he takes the field off the bench against Wales to earn his first cap for the Springboks, Hanekom will get the opportunity to start justifying those sentiments at international level.
It will be a big occasion for the 22-year-old loose forward, who was drafted into the squad following Damian Willemses injury withdrawal. But it will certainly help that he has Bok assistant coach Vermeulen guiding him this week.
