Our captain

My son goes to the same school as Warren Whitley's. I sent him this letter.

Dear Warren

Congratulations on being selected as the Springbok captain, and the man chosen to take the Bokke forward.

Of all the mishaps in recent years that have floundered the Springboks from being a world rugby super power, your selection is a shining beacon and gives us, the general day-to-day "Bok Selectors" a whole lot to feel happy about.

Without getting in to any personal assessments of what has prevailed in recent years, we have often been left scratching our heads bemused and confused by on-field and off-field antics.

I have no doubt at all, that we have and always have had the most naturally talented and gifted rugby athletes on the planet. I say this with the utmost respect to the current world leaders!

New Zealand administrators manage to bridge the gap between schoolboy and first-class rugby better than any other nation, and that is where they get their edge.

On a more personal note Warren, whilst I don't know you personally at all, I can only judge you on what I see on the field and on our television screens.

I'd like to take you back to our best three captains since re-admission. Statistically Francois Pienaar, Gary Tiechmann and John Smit have led the Boks through their best periods over the past 25 years. Whilst their results were admirable, not one of those players were necessarily the best in their positions. But what they all shared in common was their natural leadership ability.

Francois, Gary and John were all natural born leaders and earned their place through dedication, leadership and skill... in that order!

You Warren came to the Lions as a relative unknown after short stints in the Eastern Cape and Natal. I watched you break through the ranks under John Mitchell as a tearaway substitute with handling skills and finesse that we hadn't seen since Bob Skinstad burst on to the scene. You made your way past a few esteemed loosies at Ellis Park.

It was before you were named as captain of the Lions that I had a chat with a friend of mine, an avid Sharks supporter (Grant Constable - editor of rugbydump.com) and I predicted that you would soon be named captain of the Lions franchise and would lead them to greener pastures. You had “that look” about you.

That was 5 years ago... and the rest is history.

You have led a team of inexperienced and relatively unknown individuals from zeroes to heroes along with Johann Ackerman.

You have now been given an even greater responsibility. Possibly only second to that of being president! As a Bok captain, you have more social responsibilities than most politicians. But more importantly, you are the person that every “rugby supporter and their son” will look to, to win back some of our much-needed pride!

You’ll have about 80 minutes each weekend lead your troops to ruck, maul, maneuver, sidestep and bully their way to the try-line.

Getting back to our former leaders, messers Pienaar, Tiechmann and Smit… it wasn’t what they said, it wasn’t what they looked like, it wasn’t necessarily their out and out rugby skill that led their respective teams to the pinnacle of world rugby. It was the aura that they carried which never left their sides. Their natural aura that they were born with.

Very few people have it, but those that do, have the ability to get the best out of those around them.

And you Warren, carry that same aura.

An added advantage that you have over those three predecessors, is that you are one helluva athlete!

What a great combination to have!

As you start your journey into the wild waters as our Springbok captain, know that from “the boere from Bloem” and “the boytjies from Hilton” to the shabeens in Saxonwold, your name has been whispered about in many a conversations over the past while.

You have earned your place.

You have shown your hand.

You have been noticed.

You have been rewarded with what you deserve.

There will be many great times, there will be tough times. But remember that the nation will always look to you. Hold your head up high and lead from the front.

May your legend start now.

 

Best of luck

FdK

First class.....that has to resonate with our new captain. Absolutely the right choice, your comparison with Pienaar, Teichman and Strauss er Smit was spot on. Well done Flash.

Whitely could have been a modern-day inside centre. Other than no experience at inside centre- he appears to have no weaknesses for the modern day position. 

 Well said.

 
Anyone with a brain knows it was always going to be Whiteley.

Took Coetzee an age to figure it out. It's probably the only thing he's managed to get right.

He'll probably surround our captain with his quota picks and fill the rest of the positions up with the unworthy.

Still can't believe he left Cloete and Cronje out of the mix.



 

 He's great in SR, but hasn't proven himself on the big stage yet. But theres hope. Myself I would have put the Stormers Captain in charge. Siya Kolisi looks more like a natural born leader. Kolisi looks like he could make stuff happen when things aren't going to plan... Forget what happen to the Stormers in NZ, no team has done well there this year. 

 @papa
In SA there is a common feeling that Kolisi doesn't have what it takes to be a consistent performer at international level.
He does look like a natural leader b ut goes on walkabouts from time to time which we cannot afford at international level.
I think Whitely was by far the best choice.
I agree with flash... he has that teichmann / pienaar / smit leaderhip ability BUT also has a massive workrate.

 Koli si has been playing better since he was made captain but I agree that the jury is still out on his capacity to play test level over the long haul. My impression of him at test level is he has one or two good plays and then disappears. He seemed too small.

Whiteley is the better captain and the better rugby player.

Kolisi is a quota ... no more. He would never have been looked at had his skin been white.

Kolisi is a good player, but in the past, his work rate has been too low. What he does do is good, but sometimes not enough. 
This season has been his best by far. His biggest improvement has been competing at the rucks- and stealing some possession. If a loose forward is small- they must be effective at the breakdown.

 so in a nutshell...
Just_Win, sharkbok and CC are all just reiterating what i said originally.

Kolisi has his moments, but drifts away when the smell of pap is in the air or when a hot white chick walks past .

Kolisi is a limited test player whatever style we adopt......Whiteley likewise is not going to be a big contributor in a war in the trenches......but out wide, his cover defending and ball handling in space are top class. Given how many matches we have lost in the RC because of lack of out wide cover in the last 20 minutes, Whiteley used properly can be very valuable as a player. .. One data point.....Whiteley has scored 3 tries in his 15 tests, a higher hit rate than Kriel or Allende. Why? Because he reads the game better than these stiffs.

 
Anyone who rates Kolisi as a test player is simply ignorant.

Same goes for Oupa and Notshe.

They are second rate loosies ... not worthy of the Bok.

Whiteley will be a good captain, good player, great leader. 
CC - I agree on Kolisi and Oupa but maybe he's not ready right now but Skuna Notshe does have some potential and at 23 I hope he gets there. 

 Clean cut, we'll see. How did Whiteley go last year in the Boks.... oh yeah s##t. Selecting test quality players out of your SR teams is difficult there isnt a lot at that level.... Boks will need to just put the Lions team on with a sprinkle from Stormers and Sharks. The SA cant be as useless as 2016 hopefully . But Whiteley found out Test Rugby isn't super rugby last year, he disappeared most games. 
Selcting a player to captain a team when everythings made easy for you with weak teams to play against is great he looks fantastic!! But the real test is when you come up against a team that can tackle and counter attack on a dime ... oh no, then you find out who your leaders are. France wont be a push over either they have forwards that will match your Bok pack. Take the game away from your boneheaded forwards and its game over for the springboks and their clueless defense to cut through.

 
Can't argue with you there, Papamoa. We should have had battle ready replacments lining up, but that as you know wasn't seen to by the last three coaches. 

Bringing in the elderly has hindered progress here ... so we're forced to select an inexperienced side and build them up from scratch. That hasn't been done either ... instead we have quotas and incompetence running rampant through the Bok ranks.

I'm sure you took note of who Coetzee selected to face the French, right? It's another huge step backward ... and it's sad to see Whiteley amongst these sub standard palookas.

If he were surrounded by the best we have, we'd see him come into his own.

Instead he has to endure Fats Fransie, Kolis, Paige, Elton, Oupa, De Allende, Jesse Kriel, Bongi ... and the list goes on endlessly.

I will be cheering the French on.




 

 Hey cleancut, yes very unfortunate. Hope the Boks go well and create something new, watching them belittle the Springbok jersey is growing tiresome. The ABs want a better contest this year.

 
I wouldn't hold my breath if I were you. The Boks are on a downward trajectory and it seems to be picking up momentum.

Perhaps in another 10 years or so. Right now we regard Italy and Japan as major rivals.