Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus has confirmed that Siya Kolisi will be captain for the Castle Lager Incoming Series against Ireland in July.
There were rumours that the loose forward from France would no longer be the captain of the South African national team, as he has always been.
“I would always love to have a captain locally based because he can hop on a flight and we can have a weekend together and plan and work on stuff,” Erasmus said.
Nonetheless, Erasmus announced during a news conference in Pretoria on Wednesday that Kolisi would captain the Irish in the eagerly awaited series against the 2023 Rugby World Cup winners.
“Siya will be captain,” Erasmus said as he looked forward to the clash of rugby titans, with South Africa ranked first and Ireland second in the world.
Ireland defeated South Africa in the 2023 World Cup pool stage in France, but they were knocked out by New Zealand in the quarterfinals after they were defeated by the Springboks in the final.
Due to the fact that the match took place outside of the international window and Paris club Racing92 was not required to release players, Kolisi was not available for the one-off Test against Wales last weekend.
In a practice match prior to the Ireland series, fellow loose forward Pieter-Stephi du Toit assumed leadership and guided the Springboks to a 41-13 victory.
“Siya is fit — he is not fat,” Erasmus remarked in response to Racing92 owner Jacky Lorenzetti’s recent criticism of Kolisi’s health.
Lorenzetti declared that the Springbok was “invisible” after Racing92 was eliminated by Bordeaux-Begles from the French Top 14 title in the quarter-finals.
“He put on a few kilos, lost his form and yesterday he was invisible,” Lorenzetti told specialist website Rugbyrama.
“At back-row we had been used to seeing an ultra-present warrior like Wenceslas Lauter. For now, Siya is not making us forget him,” added the club owner.
“The break was harmful to him,” Lorenzetti said of a mid-season hand injury sustained by Kolisi that required surgery.
After leading the Springboks to consecutive World Cup victories and defeating England in the 2019 Japan final, Kolisi relocated to France towards the end of the previous year.
In 2018, he became South Africa’s first black Test captain, leading his team from a 21-point deficit in the first half to an exciting victory over England in Johannesburg.
Against England and New Zealand four years later, Kolisi, Du Toit, and Duane Vermeulen created a strong back row in the World Cup finals.
After the victory in 2023 at the Stade de France, Vermeulen retired, but Kolisi and Du Toit will start the opening Test match against Ireland on July 6 in Pretoria.
Wednesday saw Ireland arrive in Johannesburg in order to get ready for the series.
