Duane Vermeulen will be the Springboks’ first captain of 2023 when he leads out the national team against Australia at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
With regular skipper Siya Kolisi and vice captain Handre Pollard ruled out with injury, South Africa coach Jacques Nienaber decided to hand the leadership armband to the 37-year-old Vermeulen, who captained the team twice before in 2019.
The No.8 will lead a team that includes Springbok debutant Jean Kleyn in the No.4 jumper, with flyhalf Manie Libbok and flank Marco van Staden set to start a match for the national team for the first time ever.
BREAKING! Duane Vermeulen will lead the #Springboks against Australia in Pretoria on Saturday - team announcement: https://t.co/MBDNYgjRHs 💥#StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/SEbIdaiamP
— Springboks (@Springboks) July 4, 2023
South Africa will be without the experience of Steven Kitshoff, Malcolm Marx, Eben Etzebeth, Lood de Jager, Franco Mostert, Jean-Luc du Preez, Kwagga Smith, Faf de Klerk, Cheslin Kolbe Makazole Mapimpi, Damian de Allende, Jesse Kriel and Kolisi who are all already on their way to New Zealand to prepare for next week’s match against the All Blacks.
No.8 Jasper Wiese, who will join the travelling party later in the week after the birth of his child on Monday.
Even without these manne, Nienaber is confident that he has the squad to win the first international match of the year.
Nienaber says: “Our plan from the outset was to select a squad that we believe has what it takes to beat Australia while at the same time selecting a group of players that could travel to New Zealand to give us the best possible chance to do well in both matches.”
Ox Nche injury update from the #Springboks coach 🚨#StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/2fZD01zXCJ
— Springboks (@Springboks) July 4, 2023
Of Vermeulen leading the team, the coach adds: “We had a few options as potential captains and we have two good leaders in Duane and Lukhanyo, who has been named vice captain for this match. “They are both quality leaders and they’ll have a lot of experience around them on the field, which is fantastic for us as coaches.”
Springboks: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Duane Vermeulen (captain), 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi and 1 Ox Nche. Replacements: 16 Joseph Dweba, 17 Thomas du Toit, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Evan Roos, 21 Deon Fourie, 22 Grant Williams and 23 Damian Willemse.
dudley.carstens@inl.co.za