Eben again called upon to lead Boks to Champs glory

in June, will welcome another chance to showcase his leadership skills.

The absence of injured first choice captain Warren Whiteley has opened the door for Etzebeth.

Dynamic loose forward Siya Kolisi was named vice-captain for the opening match.

Whiteley, who has a groin injury, will be out of action for at least six more weeks, ruling him out for the opening stages of the Championship.

“Eben did an excellent job against France in Johannesburg when he had to step in at short notice after the late withdrawal of Warren,” Springbok coach Allister Coetzee said.

“He is well supported by our strong leadership group, which consists of Siya, Tendai Mtawarira and Elton Jantjies.”

Etzebeth has played in 57 Springbok Tests since making his debut on 9 June 2012 against England in Durban, when he was 20 years old.

The team had a gruelling training session in front of about 3 000 Springbok fans at the Gelvandale Stadium yestereday.

Coetzee has said that putting pride back in the Springbok jersey is one of his main priorities after a woeful 2016 campaign, which saw his team win only four of their 12 matches.

Some of the pain of that poor run of results, which included a shock loss to Italy, was erased earlier when South Africa scored a thumping 3-0 series win over France in June.

But, as his team prepares for their opening match in the Rugby Championship against Argentina in Port Elizabeth next Saturday, Coetzee issued a stern warning to his side.

“The Rugby Championship comes with new challenges.

“It is a difficult and tough competition,” Coetzee said.

“We must ensure that we build on what we achieved against the French and make sure we are even better in the Rugby Championship.”

The Boks are facing 10 gruelling weeks in the championship, which will see them playing the Wallabies in Bloemfontein and the All Blacks in Cape Town.

After the Port Elizabeth Test, the Springboks will be in action in Argentina the following weekend.