Sorry - I did not check nd posted a second thread on the same issue.
However, any appointment of Vermeulen will be temporary - his form since his 2015 and subsequent injuries for Toulon was not really up to standard. He is not the player we got used to prior to the WC and his expected performances in the June tests is likely to cause his demise as Springbok player in future.
Mike ... didn't you tell us how smart Rassie was ... that the obvious choice at 8 would be Du Preez and that he would slot him in there without hesitation?
Didn't you tell us that Rassie would have taken not of Vermeulen's lack of form and that his only real choice would be to give Jean-Luc Du Preez the Bok 8 jersey?
No CC
I think Rassie is trying to show SARU why the duds should not be in the squad and he is smart enough to know what weapons he can use. Poor performance by duds in tests is by far the best method to do just that.
Thee captaincy issue has been decided in terms of the following report from News24:-
"Stormers duo Pieter-Steph du Toit and Siya Kolisi will lead the Boks in their upcoming Test against Wales and series against England, respectively."
Du Toit will become the 60th Springbok skipper for the one-off clash against Wales in Washington DC on Saturday, June 2.
Kolisi, captain No 61, will then take over for the three-Test series against Eddie Jones' England side at Ellis Park in Johannesburg (June 9), Toyota Stadium in Bloemfontein (June 16) and Newlands in Cape Town (June 23).
To date, the Boks have had 56 captains stretching back to 1891, including current Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus who was No 47 on the list.
Kolisi is a quota disaster with strings of poor performances this year. How can the Springboks have a non-performing captain? Bad political choice that would backfire.
-- rigid generalisations, tut, tut!. Vermeulen- the man of the series!!
Sorry - I did not check nd posted a second thread on the same issue.
However, any appointment of Vermeulen will be temporary - his form since his 2015 and ]
subsequent injuries for Toulon was not really up to standard.
He is not the player we got used to prior to the WC and his expected performances in the June
tests is likely to cause his demise as Springbok player in future.
Yes, Vermeulen man of the series indeed.
I am surprised by the leadership displayed by Vermeulen, and like Moz said somewhere else, Vermeulen was in any case the de facto captain in the tests so far this year. Politically it would be advantages to maintain Kolisi as the formal captain. This could mean that Whiteley will return as an ordinary player and I think he should be given an opportunity to start from the bench.
Etsebeth should first play a few Super rugby games to proof his preparedness for the Bok team.
Ag Mike, It's not that hard, you dissed Vermeulen like I had dissed Le Roux, he would not have made your team just like Le Roux would not have made mine, besides you and a few others were pretty rabid in your condemnation of the team and it's so-called "quotas"....on that basis quite a few gave it no chance in hell of winning.
Just suck it up …...you were hopelessly wrong, so were the Doomsday brigade.
You can cut it anyway you want, you and a few others got it wrong......I don't expect you'll admit you were.
3,328 posts
Duane Vermeulen will be the Springbok captain in the three-Test series against England. Warren Whiteley, once he returns from injury, will take over as the leader of the Springboks. Pieter-Steph du Toit will captain the Springboks in the season’s opening Test against the Welsh.
I don't really have any problem with that. Actually I am quite happy.
Well played Rassie!
Du Toit will start as captain and lock against Wales in the June 2 international in Washington DC, and will be among the match day substitutes for the June 9 series opener against England at Elllis Park in Johannesburg. Lions Franco Mostert and Bulls RG Snyman are expected to be the starting locks against England.
Whiteley was the 2017 Springbok captain but has missed most of the last year because of injury. In his absence, Eben Etzebeth captained the Springboks. Etzebeth is also injured and won’t play before the Rugby Championship in August and September.
Vermeulen, the former Stormers captain, also led Toulon on several occasions. He won’t be available for the Rugby Championships, but will be in the Test mix for the end of the year tour. Vermeulen, post June, will play in Japan on a short-term contract before returning permanently to South Africa for the 2019 Super Rugby season and also the RWC 2019 campaign.
Vermeulen has played 38 Tests for the Springboks and played in the 2015 World Cup.
Stormers captain Siya Kolisi and Bulls vice-captain Handre Pollard were other considerations to lead the Springboks against England. The word is that Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus wants both players to focus on their form, without the additional responsibility of the captaincy.
Kolisi and Pollard are expected to start at flank and flyhalf respectively against England.
Elton Jantjies, the Lions flyhalf who was the Springboks’s No 10 against France and in the Rugby Championship in 2017, will start against Wales. He is also likely to be part of the match 23 to play England in Johannesburg.
Erasmus, who named a squad of 43 for the first two Tests, will confirm the Bok captain’s appointment on Monday. He will also name the squad of 26 to travel to Washington, with three scrumhalves and three hookers included in the travel group.