How Du Preez 'dropped' himself

Following the retirements of John Smit and Victor Matfield the Springbok captaincy has been vacant, while potential leaders Juan Smith and Schalk Burger are both on the injured list.

 

Du Preez emerged as the favourite to lead the Boks against England to solve the captaincy debate, albeit only a short-term plan. Although the experienced Bok retired from international rugby after last year's World Cup, he is still only 30 years old and could still don the Green and Gold again in the future.

 

No longer in the Bulls set-up, Du Preez completed the season with Japanese club Suntory Sungoliath, who were crowned this season's champions.

 

However, Bok coach Heyneke Meyer revealed that is was Du Preez himself who made the decision to be omitted from the squad that will tackle England in the three-match June Test Series.

 

"I had a few meetings with him and he said he wasn't 100 percent sure he's at his best," Meyer told the media on Saturday evening. "He said he hasn't played for almost three months.

 

"It was a hard decision to leave him out, but it shows the character of the man that he told me to go with the youngsters if I felt he was a 50-50 selection."

 

Du Preez's decision to be excluded from selection has opened the door for scrumhalves Francois Hougaard, Ruan Pienaar and Jano Vermaak to battle for the No.9 jersey.

 

Despite the first Test being less than a week away there is also still no news of who will captain the team. The leading contenders at this stage must be Stormers skipper Jean de Villiers and Bulls captain Pierre Spies.