Boks turn to their 'tactical genius'
And the man – hailed by coach Heyneke Meyer as a 'tactical genius' – is confident he is up for the mammoth task awaiting the Boks when they face Scotland in a World Cup crunch match in Newcastle on Saturday.
Speaking at a media briefing on Wednesday, Du Preez said he is not a man of many words and will be "leading from the front" with his performance on the field.
He will also lean on some of the other senior players in the squad to help guide him against the Scots.
"Schalk [Burger] and Duane [Vermeulen] are good friends of mine and I'm sure they will help me," the 33-year-old scrumhalf said.
He admitted that back in 2012 there was talk between him and the Bok coach, Meyer, about the possibility of captaining South Africa.
However, he had to turn the offer down.
"There was a situation that prevented it from happening," he said, without elaborating, adding: "Jean took over and he had four wonderful years."
He said that life sometimes throw you a few curveballs.
"Just a few weeks back I didn't think I would be here [at the World Cup] and a few months back I didn't even think I was going to play rugby again," he said of a knee injury he suffered in June, while on duty with his Japanese club.
"To sit here and think that I will be captain this weekend is unbelievable for me," he added.
The Bok coach, Meyer, did not hold back in his plaudits – when asked why he had selected Du Preez as captain ahead of other candidates, which included Duane Vermeulen and Schalk Burger.
Du Preez takes the role vacated by centre Jean de Villiers, who retired from the international arena after suffering a second broken jaw in six weeks against Samoa last Saturday.
Vice-captain and veteran lock Victor Matfield will also miss the Pool B game because of a hamstring strain.
"It is not easy to lose Jean [de Villiers] and Victor [Matfield], but I have a lot of confidence in Fourie [du Preez]," Meyer told the media briefing.
"I have coached him since he was a 19-year-old and even back then I was astonished about his knowledge of the game at such a young age.
"I believed then he would be a rugby genius and he is a genius [in the game]."
Meyer pointed to Du Preez' track record as a proven winner as one of the main reasons for his decision.
"He is a tactical genius," the coach said, adding: "The other aspect is that Schalk [Burger] and Fourie are great friends and play in the same team [in Japan].
"Schalk and Duane [Vermeulen] will help him.
"He knows what I want, he knows what is the right calls and the most important is that he knows how to win," Meyer said of Du Preez, adding: "He is almost back to his best.
"I know it is the right choice."
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