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The Rugby Championship and Rugby World Cup are approaching, and Springbok captain Siya Kolisi is in a race against time to get fully fit.
Kolisi suffered a knee injury in May in the Stormers’ Super Rugby campaign. Coach Rassie Erasmus confirmed that the loose forward would not be available for at least the first two Rugby Championship games against Australia on July 20 and New Zealand July 27.
That would give him time to recover.
But this has created a problem for the Bok management, which needs to find a new captain to lead the team.
Speaking to City Press this week, Swys de Bruin, part of the Boks’ coaching staff and head coach of the Lions, said: “The captain plays a massive role, but, in any campaign and in any team, you have a few team leaders.” He was alluding to Elton Jantjies, Malcolm Marx and Kwagga Smith as leaders at the Lions.
Without commenting on the Springbok set-up, as he is not at liberty to talk about national team matters, De Bruin said these team leaders could step up to the plate if called on.
“You feel it if two or three of them are injured, but normally they back one another,” he said.
Referencing Lions’ captain Warren Whiteley, who was injured for most of the season, De Bruin said that Marx stepped in and, when Marx was not around, Smith captained “the troops with great skill”.
Despite Kolisi not being able to captain, the Bok squad – which is training at a camp in Pretoria, with Kolisi attending – boasts many players with captaincy experience.
Marx, Smith, Eben Etzebeth, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Duane Vermeulen and Tendai “Beast” Mtawarira have been proposed for the role as they are team leaders in their own right.
Erasmus said that, instead of one captain, they might alternate captains until Kolisi is back.
Erasmus is confident Kolisi will run out for at least one game during the Currie Cup, which starts later this week.
For the Springboks, however, a new captain is expected to be announced tomorrow.
