Marcell Coetzee and Kwagga Smith in action during a Springboks training session at Porirua Park on July 23, 2019 in Wellington, New Zealand. (Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)
Another week, another captain.
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus on Wednesday decided to showcased the strength of his leadership group further by installing Duane Vermeulen as captain for Saturday’s Test against the All Blacks in Wellington.
The evergreen No 8 takes over from Eben Etzebeth, who interestingly is one of only two forwards retained from last weekend’s victory over the Wallabies.
“It is important that we continue to build on our leadership for this important year, especially while our regular skipper, Siya Kolisi, is out of action because of injury rehabilitation,” said Erasmus.
“Duane is an experienced captain and we have a strong group of leaders in the team, which includes Eben Etzebeth and Pieter-Steph du Toit, who have both captained the Springboks before, as well as a number of other franchise captains.”
Given that he flew 15 players over to New Zealand as early as Thursday last week, the starting line-up exhibits very few surprises.
Nippy Lions flanker Kwagga Smith notably will play as opensider and is rewarded for an outstanding year to date, with various members of the Bok coaching staff stating that he’s essentially forced himself into the reckoning through sheer form.
Lukhanyo Am and Damian de Allende, who were the centre pairing when the Boks won in Wellington last year, are on duty again, while Erasmus has decided to give Makazole Mapimpi another run on the left wing.
Various heroes from the Ellis Park Test are on the bench, including new scrumhalf sensation Herschel Jantjies.
“We have the outmost respect for the All Blacks who are the undisputed No 1 rugby team in the world,” said Erasmus.
“We know we will have to be at our very best to be competitive against the All Blacks on Saturday and that is why we have sent a group of players in advance to Wellington, so they could acclimatise after the long trip over from South Africa.”
Springboks: Willie le Roux, Cheslin Kolbe, Lukhanyo Am, Damian de Allende, Makazole Mapimpi, Handre Pollard, Faf de Klerk, Duane Vermeulen (c), Pieter-Steph du Toit, Kwagga Smith, Franco Mostert, Eben Etzebeth, Frans Malherbe, Malcolm Marx, Steven Kitshoff. Bench: Bongi Mbonambi, Beast Mtawarira, Trevor Nyakane, RG Snyman, Francois Louw, Herschel Jantjies, Frans Steyn, Jesse Kriel.
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