Rassie's claim on De Villiers' captaincy potential in Bok set-up
SPOTLIGHT: Rassie Erasmus touched on the leadership newbie Paul de Villiers brings to the Springbok setup, which could earmark him as a future national captain.
The current crop of Springbok leaders are still well within their prime and deliver the goods more often than not.
But with that experience comes a stark reality, and that is the inevitability that several stalwarts in the Springbok setup will hang up their boots at some stage in the near future.
*Also read: Ahmed’s Springbok tour to be cut short?
Erasmus knows this, and it’s evident in the amount of Springbok players that made their debuts since the 2023 World Cup Final.
De Villiers recently skippered his United Rugby Championship side, the Stormers and teams at youth level, showing great maturity in his general play since making his Test debut, but that’s not where his value stops.
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It makes total sense 💯🇿🇦
Link to the team announcement reaction story: https://t.co/ujZY9Vp1n8
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When asked if Erasmus sees De Villiers as a future Bok captain, he first touched on the current leaders in the group.
“The thing is, we’ve got Pieter Steph [Du Toit] who is a great captain, Eben Etzebeth and Damian de Allende who are great leaders,” Erasmus told Rugby365 from Turin on Monday.
“Jesse [Kriel] and Salmaan Moerat captained the side before as well.
“But the captain isn’t necessarily the guy who makes certain rugby decisions.
“You’ve got the guy that looks after the vibe and the climate of the team.”
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This selection by Rassie will ruffle some feathers
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— Rugby365 (@rugby365com) November 2, 2026
Erasmus followed up by addressing the question regarding De Villiers as a potential Bok skipper.
“Paul [de Villiers] is definitely somebody who tactically and technically knows where we are in a game.
“He can communicate with the backs and forwards and understands what we are trying to do.
“I think he will be a wonderful [Springbok] captain one day; he’s still finding his feet in the team, but he’s definitely an asset when it comes to leadership.”
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