The Springboks on Tuesday surprised with their choice of captain for Saturday’s World Cup warm-up match against Argentina in Buenos Aires, naming hooker Bongi Mbonambi as the man to take the lead.
With his Sharks skipper Lukhanyo Am also in the team, it was expected that he’d perhaps lead a rather experimental team against Los Pumas.
But on selecting Mbonambi as his skipper in the first official World Cup warm-up clash, Bok coach Jacques Nienaber says: “I’m extremely proud of Bongi, he’s been a brilliant leader for us since 2018.
A host of changes to the #Springboks team as more players are given a run in Buenos Aires - more here: https://t.co/EZ6M5JIKt7 🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦#StrongerTogether pic.twitter.com/ySCA8FpAJv
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“He is one of our game drivers and he is a no-nonsense leader.
“He leads by example by doing the hard stuff and doesn’t mince his words, he is a straight shooter.
b“He is a guy that demands respect. Sometimes when you sit in a room on your elbow and that guy walks in you sit up straight, he’s got that aura around him.”
Nienaber, whose senior Boks are at home in SA, will name his squad for the World Cup next week and gave some players a laaste kans at cracking the nod.
Young prop Gerhard Steenekamp is one of those players looking to make a good last and in his case, first, impression after being chosen to make his national-team debut off the bench.
With players scrumming for World Cup places, Nienaber adds of his team: “There is not a player in our enlarged squad who is fully confident that he will be in the World Cup squad, so the competition for places is intense.
“Each one of the players is desperate for an opportunity to play and it’s evident in the way they’ve been training and in the hard work they’ve been doing off the field, so we’re excited to see what they bring this weekend.”
Springboks: 15 Damian Willemse, 14 Canan Moodie, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Deon Fourie, 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Jean Kleyn, 3 Thomas du Toit, 2 Bongi Mbonambi (captain), 1 Trevor Nyakane. Replacements: 16 Joseph Dweba, 17 Gerhard Steenekamp, 18Vincent Koch, 19 Jean-Luc du Preez, 20 Evan Roos, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Jesse Kriel, 23 Kurt-Lee Arendse.