If Kolisi’s out, who’s next to wear Bok No 6 jersey?

Kwagga Smith or Jasper Wiese? Or Marcell Coetzee … or Deon Fourie?

These are just four of the names that have been mentioned as possible replacements for Siya Kolisi were the Springbok captain to be ruled out of action for several months because of a knee injury.

South African rugby fans are awaiting news of Kolisi’s injury, picked up in the early stages of last Saturday’s URC match against Munster in Durban.

Some reports have suggested the 31-year-old, who led the Springboks to World Cup glory in 2019 in Japan, will be out of action for nine months if he undergoes surgery to repair partially torn ligaments in his knee. If he opts against the surgery and only has work done on his meniscus he could be out for four months — still putting his Rugby World Cup participation in doubt.

Captaincy

While there are several options to take over as captain of the Boks, among them Duane Vermeulen, Handre Pollard, Lukhanyo Am, Eben Etzebeth and Steven Kitshoff being the obvious candidates, finding a like-for-like person to wear the No 6 jersey in a balanced back-row could prove far more problematic.

This is because Kolisi is far more than just a leader and openside flanker. He is a powerful defender and ball-carrier and a stealer at the breakdowns. His experience is massive and his partnership with Pieter-Steph du Toit and Duane Vermeulen in the Bok back-row over the last few years has played a big part in the team’s success.

So, who could step in?

The good news is there are options for coach Jacques Nienaber, and plenty of them. Smith is comfortable across all three back-row positions, Wiese probably too, while Coetzee has also moved around six, seven and eight.

Marco van Staden has experience and has been in good form for the Bulls and ticks many boxes, while Elrigh Louw and Evan Roos have their strong points.

Ticking the right boxes

Fourie though, who only made his Bok debut last year at the age of 35, could be Nienaber’s go-to man.

One person who rates Fourie highly is former World Cup winner Joel Stransky.

Speaking to The Citizen this week about the upcoming URC quarter-finals, the now commentator and analyst said Fourie’s recent absence because of injury from the Stormers team had coincided with the defending URC champions losing some of their momentum of late.

“The Stormers have stalled a bit, lost some momentum … and it’s happened at the same time that Deon Fourie has been missing,” said Stransky.

“It just shows how important he is to a team … he has this ability to slow down the opposition’s ball and that impacts a team’s attacking threat and structure. And let’s not forget how good he is winning breakdown ball.”

As rugby fans wait for news on Kolisi, South Africa’s loose forwards will be keen to get stuck in and show why they should get the Bok No 6 jumper.