Rassie on Siya, Eben's Bok future
03/05/2025 10:12 AM
Rassie Erasmus is upbeat about Eben Etzebeth's involvement for the Springboks in 2025, while has addressed questions around Siya Kolisi's role in the team, reports DEVIN HERMANUS.
The world champions will kick off their season preparations with a three-day alignment camp in Cape Town next week, with 56 players attending in person and 26 joining virtual sessions in March.
Speaking to the media at SA Rugby's HQ in Plattekloof on Wednesday, Erasmus reaffirmed Kolisi's captaincy for the foreseeable future, Etzebeth's concussion saga and the role of senior players in the road to the 2027 World Cup.
"I know captaincy is a big thing in South Africa. When I started out [as a player with the Boks] it wasn't a big thing for me because I always thought we all take ownership and support the captain," the Bok head coach said.
"But the person that Siya has become in SA has changed my mind about that. Our feeling is, if a guy is 34, 35, 36 and injury-free, and is the fittest he can be, as long as he is the No 1 in that position, he will stay captain.
"Obviously there have been some other options; Eben has been [captain], Bongi [Mbonambi] has been, Pieter-Steph [du Toit] has been… There has been a couple.
"But if Siya is fit, healthy and in the best possible shape that he can be, I don't think there will be a change this year."
Kolisi, now playing No 8 for the Sharks, will be 36 when South Africa defends their World Cup title in Australia. His positional shift has been seen as a strategic move to extend his career and enhance his attacking contributions.
Meanwhile, Erasmus provided insight into Etzebeth's prolonged absence from the Sharks due to recurring concussion symptoms. The 33-year-old last played in December but is back training and will attend the alignment camp in Cape Town.
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"I've actually visited [Dr] Pierre Viviers, who's the concussion guru, just to get a proper catch-up so I can better understand concussion protocols again," Erasmus explained.
"When a guy is totally concussion-free and he starts from a clean sheet again, that's what we always want.
"Eben must just get to that stage now where they say he's concussion-free. He doesn't have any symptoms and has gone through all the processes and, according to what I've heard, he'll be one of the players that will be available [to us].
"He's not yet ready to play but he's very close to getting ready to play. Just once that sheet is clean and he's concussion-free, then it's back to normal again.
"Obviously guys who've got one concussion after another, there's some implications there… but we see Eben playing for us this year."
With the likes of Steven Kitshoff retiring and injuries ruling out Elrigh Louw (knee) and Trevor Nyakane (ankle), Erasmus addressed concerns over the Bok squad's succession planning and age profile.
"We notice people [in the media] are starting to put brackets next to guys' ages and we do as well, we have succession planning thinking when we know some players are going to give up or can't keep up anymore," he said.
"But then again, you can't plan a guy's career just around the World Cup because if he's still good enough and still No 1, 2 or 3 in his position but he might retire in 2026, it'll be very unfair now not to pick him just because he ends [his career] in 2026.
"If you look at our [camp] squad and depth chart, there's a nice spread of older guys and younger guys out of the 84 in total. There's three players who won't play for us this year and that's Elrigh, Kitsie who's done, and Trevor.
"All the other players who are in those groups are, if they don't get another injury, will get game time and be available to be selected."
Photo: Steve Haag Sports/Gallo Images
The post Rassie on Siya, Eben's Bok future appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
