HE ISN’T ashamed to admit he had trouble holding back the tears when the final whistle blew, signalling the end of the 2023 Rugby World Cup – and the end of his career.
It was tough stuff, Duane Vermeulen admits. The days leading up to the final were all about “lasts”: the last Monday practice, the last Tuesday practice, then the last day before his last game as a professional – everything was a reminder that his glory days on the field were drawing to a close.
“At one point I wondered if I was going to make it,” the 37-year-old Bok stalwart says. “It was one hell of an emotional roller-coaster. And then you
