Springbok head coach Rassie Erasmus believes André Esterhuizen’s versatility, experience and leadership qualities make him the ideal man to captain South Africa against Australia in their one-off Test in Perth on Sunday.
Esterhuizen will become the 68th player to captain the Springboks when he leads a much-changed side against the Wallabies (kick-off 11.45am). Erasmus made 13 changes to the starting team after the four-Test Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series against the All Blacks.
The 32-year-old is the franchise captain of the Sharks in the United Rugby Championship (URC), and has established himself as one of the most versatile players in the world champions’ squad. They have used him at centre, loose forward and as a hybrid impact player off the bench.
For Erasmus, handing Esterhuizen the captaincy is also part of a wider plan to develop the team’s leadership group ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup. Alongside skipper Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Eben Etzebeth and other senior players like Handré Pollard and Jesse Kriel, the Boks will have a strong leadership core.
“I think it wasn’t a question of who we were going to make captain. It was more a question of how we can pull our senior players together so that everybody has the same voice,” Erasmus explained, on Tuesday, at the team announcement.
“A guy like Eben, captain or not, will always bring the same attitude, wisdom and calm head to the party. A guy like André will always know what he’s doing when he’s there. Jesse Kriel isn’t playing, but he’s been our captain.
"Obviously, Siya has been our captain as well. So, we’re trying to build our leadership group in that way.
“André has been the Sharks’ captain and he’s been one of those players who, whenever you ask something of him, whether it’s playing as a hybrid player or playing behind Damian de Allende and Damian Willemse, sometimes playing a hell of a lot, and then accepting to play forward and be an impact player, he’s always embraced it.
“We would love to see him in this situation against a really strong Australian team. We feel it’s not just the honour of him getting the captaincy, but it will also help us as a team going forward into matches and closer to the World Cup to have more guys who know what it feels like to lead the Springboks.”
Erasmus also pointed to Esterhuizen’s leadership during his time with the Sharks, particularly when the Durban franchise went through difficult periods. They had a tough URC and Champions Cup season, but under Esterhuizen as skipper and with head coach JP Pietersen, they had some strong games.
Several players have had limited game time during the international season, meaning the Boks will have to build cohesion on the run after Erasmus largely stuck with the same combinations during Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry.
Handré Pollard and Herschel Jantjies will form a new combination at flyhalf and scrumhalf, while the Boks will also field a young front-row combination in hooker Johan Grobbelaar, tighthead prop Zachary Porthen and loosehead Jan-Hendrik Wessels. Canan Moodie will also get a run at outside centre, while Edwill van der Merwe takes his place on the wing.
“We rolled the dice a little bit against the All Blacks by playing consistently with the same team and obviously getting some momentum as it went on longer. But if we keep on doing that, how will we know, when we get to the Nations Championship at the end of the year or the World Cup next year, what the next guy can do?
“I think when we went to Argentina, a lot of these guys also played there, and it was a bit of a stop-start and a non-cohesive performance. I don’t think they’re going to fire from the start, but I can tell you that they’re really hungry, they really want to play, and they’ve been idling for a hell of a long time.
“Some of them have had some game time, so hopefully it doesn’t get too sticky in the beginning. But it’s not like Australia have played 300 minutes in the last three weeks or so, you know? So, I think we’ll be okay.”
South Africa matchday 23 v Australia
Springboks starting XV: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Canan Moodie, 12 André Esterhuizen (captain), 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Herschel Jantjies, 8 Marco van Staden, 7 Elrigh Louw, 6 Paul de Villiers, 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Zachary Porthen, 2 Johan Grobbelaar, 1 Jan-Hendrik Wessels; Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Ox Nché, 18 Wilco Louw, 19 Lood de Jager, 20 Jasper Wiese, 21 Morné van den Berg, 22 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, 23 Quan Horn.