Rassie wants Kolisi to ‘empty his tank’
Brits to captain the side at Loftus
Siya Kolisi will make his long-awaited return to the Springbok starting line-up when they face Argentina at Loftus on Saturday, but he will not captain the side in the World Cup farewell Test.
Siya Kolisi will make his longawaited return to the Springbok starting line-up when they face Argentina at Loftus on Saturday but he will not captain the side in the World Cup farewell Test.
Schalk Brits will captain SA against the South Americans.
Coach Rassie Erasmus explained that he opted for Brits to lead the team ahead of the returning Kolisi as he is slowly being reintegrated into the team after a long injury layoff.
“I’ve asked Siya to empty his tank and go hard for as long as he can and he might even come off in the first half‚” Erasmus said. “He has played less than 50 minutes of Currie Cup rugby in the last 12 weeks but I needed him to have a taste of Test rugby again before we leave for Japan.”
Lions pivot Elton Jantjies will be the vice-captain on Saturday.
Erasmus‚ who confirmed that Kolisi remains the captain of the side‚ named a new-look team made up mostly of players who are still looking to secure places in the World Cup squad.
“Siya remains the captain of the team‚” the Bok coach said.
“It is a matter of him getting medically fit. We are clear how we are going to handle the captaincy; we want him back to his best form and to regain his confidence.”
Erasmus has given the nod to 18 players who featured in the Rugby Championship-winning campaign but he included five “newcomers” in the returning Kolisi‚ Thomas du Toit and Wilco Louw‚ Marco van Staden and potential debutant Scarra
Ntubeni. The backline that helped overwhelm Australia at Ellis Park a month ago has been reunited with the exception of the scrumhalf, where Cobus Reinach will start.
The pack features a new front row with the mighty Bulls locking combination and a first start of the season for Marcell Coetzee alongside Kolisi and Rynhardt Elstadt.
CAMEO RETURN
Jantjies will take over the leadership role in the event of Brits being replaced and open the way for Ntubeni to debut.
Erasmus said the split between six forwards and two backs on the bench was to provide extra looseforward cover for Kolisi’s cameo return.
Frans Steyn would cover all of flyhalf‚ centre and fullback with Faf de Klerk the only other back replacement.
Herschel Jantjies was slated to provide scrumhalf cover but was withdrawn on Tuesday following a blow to his head in training. The knock is not expected to affect his potential inclusion in the squad that will head for Japan.