Two-time Rugby World Cup winning Springboks skipper Siya Kolisi’s six–year-long captaincy streak might end this year.
This after head coach Rassie Erasmus hinted that he prefers the team’s captain to be locally based.
“It would be great to just be able to give the guy a call and hop on a flight to spend the weekend together to discuss plans. This is a unique situation, he will be considered,” said Erasmus during a media briefing in Cape Town.
Kolisi who is now playing for Racing 92 in Paris, France, is the most successful Bokke captain in history, after leading the team to historic back-to-back Rugby World Cup titles in 2019 and 2023, respectively.
He was appointed captain of the Springboks in 2018, becoming the first black man to hold the position.
Lukhanyo Am, Duane Vermeulen, Bongi Mbonambi and Eben Etzebeth, have been touted by many to replace Kolisi.
Meanwhile, Erasmus also unveiled the new coaching staff that includes former All Blacks player, Tony Brown who has now assumed the attack coach position and former Irish and British Lions player, Jerry Flannery who will assume the role of defence coach.
“Tony and Jerry bring a fresh perspective from different rugby environments.
“It’s lekker to hear new voices on how we’ve been doing things and how we might do them in the future,” added the coach.
The management reshuffle comes after the departure of Jacques Nienaber and Felix Jones.
The Springboks will kick off their international season in June for the first time since their thrilling victory at the Rugby World Cup in France last year, when they face off Wales at Twickenham, in London.
Additionally, the four-time champs will host Ireland for their first home two-test series at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria and Kings Park Stadium in Durban, respectively.
This will be their first home soil encounter against Ireland since 2016 and there’s been a lot of excitement displayed by fans through ticket sales.
General tickets for the second test between the Boks and Ireland sold out the same day when they were made available to the public on 4th March.
