Springbok flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit seems to be the favourite to take over the captaincy position for the one-off test match against Wales at Twickenham next weekend.
With regular captain Siya Kolisi unavailable because of club commitments and the fact the test falls outside the test window set out by World Rugby, the Springboks need to find a new captain for the one-off test and get some momentum ahead of their massive two-test series against Six Nations champions Ireland.
While there are several captaincy candidates, from Eben Etzebeth, who was captain in the Allister Coetzee era, to Bongi Mbonambi, who captained the Boks during stages of last year’s Rugby World Cup, and even flyhalf Handre Pollard, Du Toit may be the captain that Erasmus is looking for.
And he has done it before. In the first test that the Boks played against Wales in 2018 under Erasmuss’s charge, Du Toit captained them in Washington in a one-off game, that included a number of new caps as well.
Erasmus called Du Toit the “ultimate blindside flanker” and the respect that the tall blond flanker has in the team is unrivalled.
While it won’t be a surprise if Erasmus decides rather to go for Etzebeth or Mbonambi, Du Toit is an attractive option right now for the team in the one-off game that the Boks hope will give them the momentum needed to go into the Irish series.
Kolisi is set to return in the week of the Ireland game and has had a few injury niggles while playing in Paris for his club Racing 92 and the Boks will wait to assess his fitness when he gets back to South Africa.
'SIYA IN THE RUNNING FOR IRISH TEST'
Erasmus has previously been quoted as saying he wants his captain to be playing in South Africa, which fuelled speculation that Kolisi may be replaced.
What is clear though, is that the Boks will only take a decision for Wales and then reassess afterwards, especially given the number of injuries in the squad at the moment.
“We will announce a captain. To be honest with you, inside the camp the captaincy is not such a big thing. Obviously the long term captaincy is a thing. But we go into this Welsh test without Siya. We will assess him when he gets back and see how he slots in. We have two weeks after the Welsh test match.
“It will probably be Pieter-Steph du Toit or Eben. It could be Bongi, but then we might want to start Malcolm (Marx) to manage his game time because if Bongi goes down in 10 minutes, Malcolm doesn’t have to play a whole 70.
“The guys are leading well. The core of the group that has been with us for four years, they understand there are youngsters around them and everyone is coaching with us and helping us. We will make that call internally on Sunday night after the Bulls game and we will announce a captain for Wales on Tuesday,
“But when we announce the Irish squad, we will announce a captain, and obviously Siya will be in the running if everything goes well and he is injury free.”
[WATCH] Springbok coach Dr Rassie Erasmus on who will captain the team against Wales in the absence of Siya Kolisi.
— Ntsako Mkhari (@Ntsako_Mkhari_) June 13, 2024
Erasmus says either Pieter-Steph du Toit, Bongi Mbonambi or Eben Etzebeth will skipper the side. pic.twitter.com/sXP06jwiRE
The Boks will announce their side to face Wales on Tuesday.