Hard to fill Siya’s skipper shoes - Rassie
Erasmus yet to decide whether to bend rules — having a locally-based captain — for Kolisi, the double World Cupwinning skipper
● Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus admits that taking the captain’s armband from Siya Kolisi would be a big call, especially as no home-based player possesses Kolisi’s leadership qualities.
Erasmus earlier this week indicated he prefered the Springbok captain to be based in South Africa but he is yet to reach a decision on whether it is worth bending the rules for Kolisi, the double Rugby World Cup-winning captain.
After lifting the Webb Ellis Cup in Paris last October, Kolisi returned to the City of Light to start his three-year contract with Racing 92 but that put him at odds with Erasmus’ preference to have the Bok captain in close proximity.
“Maybe not of the quality of Siya, but there are good leaders,” said Erasmus when asked about the captaincy material on home soil. The head coach explained that leadership responsibility should be shared by the collective.
“It is not always about leadership but ownership. If you get the right people on that bus for the first game, you need players to take ownership in their individual positions,” said Erasmus.
“But you’ll look far to find a leader like
Siya. That will weigh very heavily when we make a decision. It will be a big call not to make him captain because there are so many things going for him, that he does well. We will have to fine-tune a few things.”
That said, the Springboks will definitely be without their triumphant captain in their first post-RWC match.
The Boks start their four-year cycle to the next RWC against Wales in London on June 22. That match takes place outside the international window, which will preclude players who earn a living in Europe for the clash at Twickenham.
Erasmus will have to start building contingencies for Kolisi’s absence. Not having the talismanic figure of the retired Duane Vermeulen, he admits, makes the need even more pressing.
Sure, Erasmus needs the RWC winners with an average age of 32 at its core to make their experience count, but the coach also wants the captain to meet certain criteria. The captain needs to command a place in the starting team, possess excellent communication skills and play in a position that places him in close proximity to the referee. Whether short- or longterm, Kolisi’s replacement will need all the help he can get. Erasmus explained that Jaco Peyper, their newly-appointed laws adviser, will have a significant role to play. “When we coach a player, we lecture him about refereeing protocols: how to show respect, the use of language and how you speak to him without sucking up to him.”
In a wider context, though the Boks with an ageing squad have to rebuild, the coach was clear that established World Cup winners will be deployed against Ireland in July. The fact that the Boks last beat Ireland in 2016 does not sit comfortably with Erasmus. “We won’t chop and change against Ireland. They are No 2 in the world. That would be stupid. There will be more new faces in this cycle,” the coach assured.
He intimated that the Tests against Wales, and the groundbreaking one-off clash against Portugal, will provide them opportunities to expand their squad.
Clearly, more than ever, there is more incentive for young players to deliver eyecatching performances in the United Rugby Championship (URC), even though that might not be enough.
Stormers’ loose forward Hacjivah Dayimani has regularly ticked that box but, in this
But you’ll look far to find a leader like Siya.
That will weigh very heavily when we make a decision
Rassie Erasmus
Springbok head coach
case, there may be more than just meets the eye. “We certainly looked at Hacjivah but when we looked through his road map — and for a loose forward, not specifically him — you look at how many battles you get into and how many battles do you win,” explained Erasmus when asked about the player.
“Your work rate, your understanding... when you make a tackle, do you dominate that tackle? If Cheslin (Kolbe) was just stepping guys, we’d never pick Cheslin. He’s tackling, stealing, getting under the high ball.
“There are players who are really, really good but they are not complete. Hacjivah is not out of the mix to play a Test match this year. There is the possibility.” There is a lifeline for Dayimani, though the buoy seems punctured.