Rassie Erasmus says that Siya Kolisi will continue to lead the Springboks in 2026 after shifting his mindset around the captaincy.
The Bok boss does not believe that there will be a change in the leadership role this year, but has pinpointed the factors that may change things.
Siya Kolisi the icon
Kolisi’s role was under the spotlight last year when the flanker was plying his trade at French club Racing 92 with Erasmus admitting that he preferred his Springboks skipper to be locally based as it allowed for better access.
Still, the flanker continued to lead the side in 2024, when selected, and that looks to continue into 2025 after Erasmus’ views about the leadership role shifted since making Kolisi the captain.
The head coach first gave the flanker the honour in 2018 with Kolisi going on to lead the side to back-to-back Rugby World Cups and a British and Irish Lions series which proved to be hugely inspirational for the team and country.
“The captaincy is a big thing in South Africa, when I started out it wasn’t a big thing for me, because I believe we all take ownership and support the captain,” Erasmus told reporters in Cape Town on Wednesday.
“But the icon and the person Siya has become to South Africans definitely shifted my mindset on that.”
Future of the captaincy
There are fears that Kolisi will not make the next Rugby World Cup with the captain celebrating his 34th birthday this year.
However, that is not a concern for Erasmus just yet who states that the ageing stars will remain incumbents as long as they continue to be the fittest and best players in their respective positions.
“Our feeling is if a guy is 34, 35, 36, injury-free and the fittest he can be, as long as he is number one in his position, he will stay captain,” he explained.
“Obviously there are some other options. Eben Etzebeth, Bongi Mbonambi and Pieter-Steph du Toit have been captains. If Siya is fit, healthy and playing well, then I don’t think there will be a change this year.”
Kolisi heads into the 2025 season needing eight Test caps to become the latest Springbok to play 100 games for South Africa.
He would join an illustrious group of players to do so which includes Etzebeth, Victor Matfield, Bryan Habana, Tendai Mtawarira, John Smit, Jean de Villiers and Percy Montgomery.
The 33-year-old enters the new international season having captained his country on 61 occasions, the second most times in Springbok history with Smit leading the way having skippered the team 83 times.
