Van Zyl to lead Carr(less) WP
The appointment of Van Zyl as skipper comes on the same day that coach John Dobson revealed Springbok flank Nizaam Carr is in doubt for Friday's tournament opener.
Carr picked up a shoulder injury while on Super Rugby duty for the Stormers.
Van Zyl was captain of Dobson's team that went through the Currie Cup qualifying campaign with only one defeat to end top of the standings.
He is comfortable with the role and is keen to see his team build on what they have already achieved this year.
"It is a massive privilege for me," Van Zyl said.
"Coach [Dobson] and I had spoken about it and I said from the outset that I wanted to do it at Loftus," he added.
"I enjoyed the Currie Cup qualifiers and the role of being in charge there, and I feel that I thrive in that leadership position."
Dobson explained that the leadership roles will be reassessed when they go on a short camp in their bye week next week.
"Next week we have got a bye and we are going on camp where we will choose our full leadership," said Dobson.
"This is like a mini-campaign of seeing what we can do at Loftus with Chris as captain, and then we will re-assess next week.
"It is going to be a very tough game for us, but that is why we are viewing it as one big game at the start, so we will put everything into this and reassess next week."
The injury may well hamper Carr's chances of Springbok selection, as he has now fallen behind his Stormers teammate Sikhumbuzo Notshe in the national pecking order – after the latter was called up for the June series against Ireland and the training camp that started in Stellenbosch on Monday.
