Elton Jantjies will lead a very young Lions team in this year’s Super Rugby tournament.
The Springbok pivot’s first assignment, though, is Sunday’s Superhero derby match against the Bulls at FNB Stadium at 3pm.
With long-term captain Warren Whiteley being named as assistant coach for the season, Jantjies can’t wait to step up and show his worth as a leader.
The World Cup winner tells SuperSport: “There is definitely technical stuff from a rugby point of view that I want to bring back to the guys.
“I’ve learned a lot from [the Bok camp] and I make sure I write every little thing down in meetings. Things I’ve learned and things I can see and can implement and help us grow and move forward into 2020.”
Lions:
15 Tiaan Swanepoel, 14 Jamba Ulengo, 13 Duncan Matthews, 12 Dan Kriel, 11 Courtnall Skosan, 10 Elton Jantjies (captain), 9 Andre Warner, 8 Len Massyn, 7 Vincent Tshituka, 6 Marnus Schoeman, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Ruben Schoeman, 3 Jannie du Plessis, 2 Pieter Jansen and 1 Dylan Smith. Replacements: 16 Jan-Henning Campher, 17 Sti Sithole, 18 Frans van Wyk, 19 Roelof Smit, 20 Cyle Brink, 21 Morne van der Berg, 22 Manuel Rass, 23 Tyrone Green, 24 Jo-Hanko de Villiers, 25 Wilhelm van der Sluys, 26 Jan-Louis la Grange, 27 Wandisile Simelane.