Damian Willemse was the victim of a broadcast mix-up after the Springboks' 45-21 victory over England at Ellis Park on Saturday, with fellow Damian De Allende mistakenly collecting the man of the match award that had been earmarked for the fullback.
According to Rapport, SuperSport's commentators had selected Willemse as their man of the match following a dominant display in which he controlled the aerial battle and executed a telling 50:22. A communication error by the home broadcaster, however, saw De Allende appear to collect the award instead. How the mix-up occurred remains unclear.
The oversight did little to diminish the significance of the occasion for Willemse, who reached 50 caps alongside Cheslin Kolbe — both men having made their Test debuts eight years ago. The 28-year-old was also the youngest-ever double Rugby World Cup winner to reach the milestone.
"It is a very special occasion," Willemse said after the match. "Not only for myself and Cheslin, but for Paul [de Villiers] as well, making his debut, and Ben-Jason [Dixon] coming in late. I'm really proud of the team."
The evening was further complicated by late withdrawals from Eben Etzebeth and Siya Kolisi, which brought De Villiers into a Test debut and Cam Hanekom into just his second cap. Willemse was measured in his assessment of how the squad handled the disruption.
"The team can handle such pressures whenever there's a curveball thrown at us," he said. "It speaks volumes about the team and the maturity that's in this group."
The win moves South Africa to the top of the Nations Championship's Southern Hemisphere table. Scotland, who beat Los Pumas 47-38 in Argentina at the weekend, arrive at Loftus Versfeld next Saturday looking for their first-ever Test win on South African soil.