Coetzee to pick overseas captain?

Editor

Springbok head coach Allister Coetzee has revealed he might consider picking an overseas-based captain for the national side.

With Adriaan Strauss retiring from international rugby, the coach needs to find a new skipper to lead his young squad and explained that he is not ruling an overseas captain out.

"I am casting the net wider than normal to make sure," Coetzee told News24, meaning that long-time candidate Duane Vermeulen and Bath captain Francois Louw could be in for a chance.

The coach stated that if he were to pick a locally-based skipper that it would be a young guy and would need support from the older players in the squad.

"He will probably be young if it's going to be a local guy," Coetzee said.

"He will make mistakes and if appointing a young captain is the route that I'm going to take then we've got to build around this guy and make sure that it's not just him alone and that he's got many other leaders around them."

Coetzee also announced that Sports Psychologist Pieter Kruger will help the Springboks find the right man for the job.

"Professor Pieter Kruger has worked with the Springboks and he will be joining me in making sure that the players we have on the radar have all the right qualities," said Coetzee.

"When you look for a Springbok captain, what is it you are looking for? That is something that we're busy with … making sure we have the right criteria."