Springbok Captain Number 57
- 1996
Current Head Coach of the Springboks, Allister Coetzee, will today announce the captain for the incoming Series at a media conference in Stellenbosch.
The announcement will mark the 57th Springbok captain since 1891.
Victor Matfield, who is generally considered one of the best locks in the world, captained the Springboks in 2007 before he retired and took on a coaching career in Australia with the Waratahs.
He was also part of the coaching team and served as a line-out consultant for the Blue Bulls provincial rugby team in 2013.
The next to clinch the captain role was Johann Muller, who was named captain in the match against the All Blacks on 14 July 2007 after original tour captain Bob Skinstad was injured in the match against the Wallabies. Muller moved to Northern Ireland to play with Ulster in 2010, where became team captain, before retiring at the end of the 2013–14 season.
The year 2012 saw Jean de Villiers march to captaincy as England toured South Africa in mid-2012. On 9 June 2012 the first test was played in Durban; South Africa beat England 22-17 with De Villiers scoring a try in the 59th minute. He then led South Africa the following week against England in the second test in Johannesburg which the Boks won 36-27.
At the conclusion of the 2012 Rugby Championship, De Villiers joined up with Western Province for the later stages of the Currie Cup.
Renowned for his high work ethic and dynamic, Schalk Burger became Springboks’ 55th captain. The member of the 2007 Rugby World Cup-winning team has 86 caps for Springboks and holds the record for the most tries (14) for a back-row forward for South Africa.
Springbok’s most recent captain, Fourie du Preez, was voted SA Rugby Player of the year by the South African Rugby Football Union both in 2006 and 2009. He captained the Springboks in four matches during last year's tournament of England and announced his retirement in March this year.
So far there has been 56 captains for the mens Springbok team, with H.H. Castens captaining South Africa on 30 July 1891 in their first ever test against the touring British Isles team at Crusaders Cricket Ground in Port Elizabeth. John Smit was the last Springbok World Cup-winning captain and also holds the record as the most capped captain in international rugby history.
