Springboks captain: RANKING the favourites for the Bok armband!

We rank the players expected to take over the Springboks captaincy from Siya Kolisi with Pollard now ruled out of the Rugby Championship.

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Names such as Eben Etzebeth, Handre Pollard, Lukhanyo AM, Duane Vermeulen, Steven Kitshoff, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Damian de Allende and even Malcolm Marx and Bongi Mbonambi have been earmarked to take over the captaincy from Siya Kolisi.

Etzebeth and AM are the firm favourites while de Allende, Mbonambi and Marx were surprise mentions. Furthermore, du Toit has lead the Boks before while Kitshoff and Vermeulen have leadership experience at club level. Unfortunately, Pollard has been rued out of the Rugby Championship.

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RANKING THE BOK CAPTAINCY CANDIDATES

We take a close look at several factors including form, experience and leadership qualities when analyzing the potential next Springboks captain.

It must be noted that Kolisi will resume the captaincy for the Rugby World Cup in France. However, the Boks need a captain to take over the armband right now. So, lets look at all the candidates.

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1) EBEN ETZEBETH

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Many pundits believe Etzebeth is the next captain. He recently won his 100th cap for the Springboks and he has lead from the front with his performances on the field. He regularly leads the stats in terms of ball carees, tackles and meters made.

Imagine adding the motivation of leading the Boks to our enforcer who already plays with such passion. Good luck to any future sides if this does happen and it very well could. Furthermore, Etzebeth is close friends with Kolisi and he has learnt a lot from our him having been captained by him at the Sharks and the Boks. His form, experience and on field leadership make him one of the favourites for the Bok armband.

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2) LUKHANYO AM

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Am has it all. He is arguably one of the best centres in World rugby. Furthermore, his ability to read the game is simply remarkable, the Sharks outside centre is one of the best all rounders in the modern game. He is as good at stopping an attack in it’s tracks with his sublime defence as he is at ripping the defense to shreds with his scintillating runs.

Am has even captained Kolisi at the Sharks (when Kolisi arrived, Am remained captain for the rest of the season). He has also successfully lead the Springboks before. On paper, it may have been the SA ‘A’ side but it was a close-to-full-strength team that played that day as Rassie and Nienaber were using that game to test the waters before the British & Irish Lions series officially got underway. Am inspired his side to a famous 17-13 win over the British & Irish Lions.

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3) STEVEN KITSHOFF

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Kitshoff has lead the Stormers to two home United Rugby Championship finals – including a URC title in 2022. Unfortunately, they lost 19-14 to Munster in the recent final. Nonetheless, Kitshoff has lead the Cape-based side with aplomb and he is one of the key members of this side.

He is of the worlds most powerful scrummages and with the scrum playing an instrumental part of the Bok game plan he is a key senior member of this side. Furthermore, Kitshoff has earned a reputation for his strong ball carries and big hits on defence. He is also the only player on this list who is a regular club captain. Am has lead the Sharks before but he is vice-captain due to Kolisi leading the Durban-based outfit.

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WILDCARDS: VERMEULEN, KITSHOFF, DU TOIT AND DE ALLENDE

In recent weeks, all four players names have come up. Vermeulen is a Bok legend. However, he is currently being outplayed by Jasper Wiese which is why he is now a wildcard. However, his experience and reputation precedes him.

Finally, du Toit and de Allende were both surprisingly mentioned as potential candidates by Rassie. Both men are experienced but neither are likely to wear the armband, they are squad leaders but unlikely captains.

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