Rassie Erasmus makes unexpected call on Springbok captaincy
Rassie Erasmus makes unexpected call on Springbok captaincy
With Siya Kolisi unavailable for the Springboks’ season-opener against Wales, coach Rassie Erasmus has been mulling over the best alternative options.
As it stands, there is still no guarantee over whether Kolisi will retain the Springbok captaincy when he returns to the team set up, but a big decision has already been made this week.
The expectation was that either Bongi Mbonambi or Eben Etzebeth would lead the team against Wales this Saturday. However, Erasmus has instead opted to appoint Pieter-Steph du Toit.
Furthermore, Jesse Kriel has been named as the vice-captain for this match.
It is an interesting decision considering that Etzebeth was named in the starting line-up, but Erasmus explained why he opted to rather back Du Toit to captain the Springboks for the second time in his career.
“Pieter-Steph has been a key figure in our system for several years now and he’s a player who leads by example on the field,” said Erasmus. “We have a strong core of senior players in this group, and we had a few options for captain, but we feel Pieter-Steph will be the right man to lead the team this week.
“He has captained the Springboks only once before and that was against Wales in 2018, and after that result, we believe it will make this match even more personal for him. Over and above that, he has immense respect from his team-mates and the coaches, and we know he will accept this responsibility with great pride.”
Here’s a look at the Springbok full team selected by Rassie Erasmus
South Africa: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Jordan Hendrikse, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Evan Roos, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (captain), 6 Kwagga Smith, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Vincent Koch, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche.
Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Ntuthuko Mchunu, 18 Frans Malherbe, 19 Salmaan Moerat, 20 Ben-Jason Dixon, 21 Grant Williams, 22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 23 Damian de Allende.
Matchday information
Date: Saturday, June 22
Venue: Twickenham, London
Kick-off: 14.00 (15.00 SA time; 13.00 GMT)
Referee: Chris Busby (IRFU)
Assistant Referee 1: Christophe Ridley (RFU)
Assistant Referee 2: Adam Leal (RFU)
TMO: Mark Patton (IRFU)
Miscellaneous:
- Pieter-Steph du Toit will lead the Springboks for the second time in his illustrious career – the first time was against Wales in Washington in 2018 when he became the 60th Springbok captain.
- Four of the last six matches between the Springboks and Wales were decided by five points or less.
- The Springboks have won five of their last 10 Test matches against Wales – the last of which was a Rugby World Cup warm-up game in Cardiff in August last year, which the Boks won 52-16. The Springboks’ eight tries in that match saw them rack up a record number of points against Wales on Welsh soil.
- The match marks a significant career milestone for Vincent Koch as he earns his 50th Test cap.
- The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up is 637.
- There are 183 caps in the backline, with 454 caps among the forwards. On the bench there are a further 227
- The average caps per player in the backline is 26, the forwards 56, while the players on the bench average 28.