VIDEO: Corné Krige's surprise pick for future Bok captain
SPOTLIGHT: Former Springbok captain Corné Krige reckons a young Stormers star has what it takes to lead the Springboks one day.
There has been a lot of debate about who the next Bok captain will be after Rassie Erasmus made it clear that he wants his leader to be based in South Africa.
Siya Kolisi has been an incredible leader for the Boks with two World Cup successes under his belt, but he is based in France with Racing 92.
Krige, who captained the Boks 18 times during his playing career, believes Erasmus has plenty of time to groom a new leader amongst seasoned veterans and believes Stormers No.8 Evan Roos fits the bill.
Roos, who made his Bok debut back in 2022 against Wales. has shown plenty of promise. However, his temperament has been questioned on several occasions when it came to off-the-ball skirmishes.
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“We are still four years out from the next World Cup and I suspect that he [Erasmus] wouldn’t want to lose many Test matches, but he will have to blood some young talent,” Krige told reporters during a United Rugby Championship round table.
“A guy like Evan Roos, who was a standout player in a very dismal performance [against Ospreys last weekend], is one of the young leaders coming through the system, so [they are] possibly looking at him.
“I think there is so much young talent coming through the system. It’s all about harnessing that talent, but also blooding them at the right time and getting them into Test match rugby.
“The one nice thing about the URC is that it is close to Test match rugby.
“It is not far off and if the guys get used to the URC and the style of play, I think it sets us up for a good international series when the Irish and All Blacks arrive.”
Krige added: “From schoolboy days, he [Roos] has been a leader.
“Loose forwards are usually our captains, especially in South Africa.
“I just thought he had an incredible game and it is hard to have an incredible game when everyone else is not playing that well.
“I was quite impressed with him.
“There are lots of other leaders around, but for me, he really stood up last weekend.”
Krige believes the match against Portugal after the Ireland series could be one of those perfect opportunities to introduce a new leader.
“I captained the Springboks in my debut match. At some point, you have to give somebody that experience and the only way you do that is to let them play and be the captain.
“Fortunately, my first Test match was against Italy, so it wasn’t that bad.
“I don’t think Rassie will risk picking a young captain against Ireland or New Zealand. I think he will go with the tried and tested and then mix a little bit of youth inside the team.
“But at some point during the year, when there is a slightly easier Tet match, which you don’t really get anymore, I think he will try and blood a young captain.
“To be honest, Siya is unbelievable and we hope he is going to be at the next World Cup, but chances are that if there is one more big injury, he probably won’t make it
“We’ve got to start looking at a new leader and I am sure there are lots of them in the system.
“My gut feeling is that Rassie will pick the tried and tested for now.”
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