Rugby national team coach Rassi Erasmus stated that Paul de Villiers is fully capable of facing the All Blacks in Cape Town on Saturday. Nevertheless, the desire to get Siya Kolisi back into shape is driven by the unique qualities and leadership abilities that the captain, who has won the World Cup twice, brings.
In the current situation, Pieter-Steph du Toit will lead the Springboks in his 100th match in the 'Greatest Rugby Rivalry' series. Both Kolisi and De Villiers are included in the squad at open flanker positions. If Kolisi's hamstring injury prevents him from attending training this week, De Villiers will start.
However, Erasmus emphasized on Monday that the preferred option is for Kolisi to demonstrate his readiness and reclaim the captain's armband for the decisive second match of the 'Greatest Rugby Rivalry' series.
Erasmus noted: 'Siya was placed next to Paul because we do not want to train today without an appointed captain. Therefore, Pieter-Steph remains the captain, but if Siya passes the test, we can make changes.' He added: 'We just want to ensure that if Siya cannot participate, we have a captain on game day.'
Thus, Kolisi successfully passing the physical fitness test on Thursday will give the Springboks an advantage on several levels. Du Toit has never shied away from captaincy and considers it a great honor, but Kolisi seems to excel in taking responsibility for leading the team.
The ideal scenario for the Bokke is Kolisi's return and him wearing the captain's armband, which will allow Du Toit to focus entirely on the significant milestone of his 100th match. Erasmus reported that if Kolisi receives clearance to play, De Villiers will be excluded from the matchday squad.
The backup player at loose forward will remain Cameron Hanekom, Andre Esterhuizen, and Dion Fourie, who can also cover the hooker position. The coach also highlighted the area where Kolisi can have a significant impact against the All Blacks: breakdown contestation.
Erasmus commented: 'Paul played well on Saturday, and there is no reason why we should exclude him. But Siya is our captain, Pieter-Steph is doing excellently, and he is really playing well. Siya possesses his own unique strengths, one of which is attacking breakdown work. He is very good at organizing this for us, which was an area we struggled with in Ellis Park.'
He continued: 'There were many moments when we played poorly, and not because they were doing something illegal, but because we could not exit the breakdown when we were in truly good attacking positions. Siya is very good at releasing the ball. And then he is very good at transitioning us from defense—he and Pieter-Steph together, we call it 'the gates'. They are well organized in defensive sets at the gates. This is definitely what we lacked. But Paul will just get better. He has only played four matches. So yes, I think Siya will definitely help us in these two areas.'