Siya Kolisi out? How the Springboks fill their captain’s void amid back-rower crisis v All Blacks
Springboks Jesse Kriel, Kwagga Smith and captain Siya Kolisi.
With Siya Kolisi a doubt for the Springboks’ clash against the All Blacks at Eden Park, we take a look at the options at Rassie Erasmus’ disposal.
The double Rugby World Cup-winning captain travelled with the Springboks squad to New Zealand for rounds three and four of the Rugby Championship, but his involvement in the highly anticipated fixture in Auckland is ‘touch-and-go’ according to Erasmus.
The Springboks head coach states that Kolisi will definitely be fit for the second game against the All Blacks, but they have opted to delay the squad announcement partly due to the skipper’s fitness.
“It’s again one of those calls that must be made with a little bit of a longer-term mindset. He’ll definitely be available next week,” Erasmus told reporters on Monday.
“We will only announce the team on Thursday, but at this stage, he is bracketed just to make 100% sure we don’t push him.
“Initially, we thought he was going to be out with a six to eight-week injury, and then the scan came back much clearer. So, we’ll make that call a little bit later in the week, but next week, he will be 100%.”
Kolisi missed the second Test match against Australia in Cape Town after sustaining the setback at Ellis Park the week prior, where he played in the number eight jumper – a first for him in the Springboks jersey.
If fit, Kolisi is bound to skipper the Boks in their first game at Eden Park since 2013, but we take a look at the captaincy and back-row permutations if he misses out on the encounter.
The captaincy
Erasmus is not short on captaincy options within the squad, with several experienced campaigners in the touring party.
This year, Jesse Kriel became the 67th Test captain of the Springboks when he led the side against Italy in Pretoria after skippering the team the week prior in the uncapped game against the Barbarians.
When Kolisi was ruled out of the fixture against the Wallabies in Cape Town, it was the experienced midfield that Erasmus turned to once again.
Hooker Bongi Mbonambi twice captained the Springboks during the Rugby World Cup in France, but the front rower has missed the trip to New Zealand as he deals with a personal matter, while there are other options in the pack too.
Lock Eben Etzebeth has captained South Africa on 14 occasions previously and would certainly be in the running for the honour if Kolisi is ruled out. However, the most capped Bok of all time does not have a great record of skippering the side against New Zealand.
In 2017, he had the captain’s armband when the All Blacks thrashed the Springboks 57-0 at North Harbour Stadium, and he led the side again in the 24-25 defeat in Cape Town the following month.
Rassie Erasmus delays Springboks team announcement to keep All Blacks ‘guessing’
When Kolisi missed the 2023 match at Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland, Etzebeth led the team, and once again, the Boks were beaten, 35-20. The lock remains a leader in the team, but in recent times, Erasmus has turned to other experienced campaigners to captain the side and could do so again this weekend, with Pieter-Steph du Toit being another candidate.
Du Toit is not the most outspoken Springbok, but he is certainly one of the most respected players in the squad. In 2024, he took over the captaincy on multiple occasions when Kolisi had left the pitch. He also led the team for the second time in his career in the opening match of the year against Wales.
While Ox Nche was named the vice-captain for the Springboks’ match against Australia in Cape Town, it seems rather unlikely that the prop will get the nod for the clash against the All Blacks, while there is an outside chance that Erasmus turns to another experienced back in Handre Pollard.
Pollard is often put down as the vice captain of the team and has captained the Springboks on one occasion previously, the 2022 defeat to Wales in Bloemfontein.
Based on the selections so far this year, Kriel looks the most likely to captain the team in Kolisi’s absence, but Erasmus is certainly not short on options.
Who plays eight?
Erasmus did not detail which position Kolisi has been ‘bracketed’ down for, but it’s surely the number six and eight jerseys.
South Africa have suffered several setbacks in the number eight position with rising star Cameron Hanekom missing the entire international season along with his Bulls teammate Elrigh Louw. Jasper Wiese’s suspension has further depleted the options, as has the injury to uncapped star Juarno Augustus.
However, Jean-Luc du Preez has made the trip to New Zealand with the squad and could well be the frontrunner for the number eight jersey after he was a late scratch from the team to face the Wallabies last time due to illness.
The 30-year-old has been a victim of the Springboks’ loose forward depth over the last eight years, but he could now earn his first start for South Africa in a Test match since facing England in 2017.
He will have stiff competition for the jersey, though, with Kwagga Smith impressing in Du Preez’s absence in Cape Town. The livewire back-rower has shone off the bench for the Springboks for much of his international career, and while he hasn’t quite provided the same spark when given the opportunity to start, he was one of the standout performers against the Wallabies.
The other option at number eight is rather unlikely, but not impossible, in Pieter-Steph du Toit. The reigning World Rugby Player of the Year has never started in the position for the Springboks but has done so repeatedly for his Japanese club, Toyota Verblitz.
The starting number six?
Smith also offers an option in the number six jumper to the Springboks, a role he has fulfilled several times in the past and often stars in when he is injected into the game off the bench.
However, if Erasmus opts to name the 32-year-old on the bench, he has an in-form flanker to turn to start in the openside flanker position, Marco van Staden.
Van Staden fronted the media in Auckland on Tuesday, which suggests that he will be involved in the matchday 23 in some shape or form, with the Springboks very seldom putting a player up for media duty if he isn’t playing that weekend.
The 30-year-old has been in sterling form for the Boks so far this year, offering a real threat at the breakdown, but has been particularly impactful with the ball in hand too.
The options outside of the aforementioned duo are rather limited unless Erasmus boldly selects Springboks centre Andre Esterhuizen at flank. So far this year, South Africa have experimented with the powerhouse midfielder as a forward, with him fulfilling the role off the bench against the Barbarians and in the second game versus Australia.
Judging by Erasmus’ comments earlier in the week, that surely won’t be happening.
“Normally, we don’t experiment too much against New Zealand,” he said.
“We try to put the fittest in-form, available team out there, and I think this will be the case. The most in-form, fittest available team will be picked because it’s a must-win for them and for us now; it’s not like we have the luxury of saying we beat them twice.
“Last year, we beat them twice, and we could experiment against Argentina. Had we lost last year against New Zealand or Australia, you know, we couldn’t have experimented like we did with Argentina away. So, no, it will pretty much be everybody who’s fit and healthy who will be on board.”
A similarly bold call could see Erasmus back lock-heavy pack with Ruan Nortje or Franco Mostert joining Du Toit on the side of the scrum. This would make for an incredibly unbalanced loose trio and is another option that is very unlikely.
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