OWN CORRESPONDENT, Cape Town | Monday 4.00pm.
ANDRE Vos will stay on as Springbok captain as long as his form and fitness hold, says convenor of selectors Francois Davids.
The Cats and Golden Lions number eight was named to lead the 28-man Springbok squad in a Test and two against England next month, after World Cup skipper Joost van der Westhuizen stood down to concentrate on his form aftere a six-month injury layoff.
Davids says the 25-year-old Vos is likely to continue his captaincy.
“It would be useless to elect a captian for two of three weeks and then drop him,” Davids told The Citizen.
Coach Nick Mallett, who urged Vos to stay in South Africa last year after a successful Super 12 season in 1998 with the Queensland Reds, is also supportive of Vos retaining the mantle.
“The principle right from the start was that the captain remains the captain while he is the number one choice,” Mallett told the newspaper.
The Springbok captaincy has become something of a poisoned chalice for out of form or out of favour skippers, as victorious 1995 World Cup leader Francois Pienaar then South Africa’s most successful captain Gary Teichmann found out.
Van der Westhuizen may have avoided similar controversy by meeting with the selectors last week and stepping down.
Mallett, meanwhile, is looking at building a new team, as the selections — four new caps but 16 World Cup casualties — show.
What remains to be seen is how radically he will inject a new style and when he will blood his talented youngsters, particularly Stormers centre De Wet Barry as most of his backline will come from that Super 12 franchise that reinvented itself in the second half of the tournament.
Braam van Straaten is sure to start at flyhalf, with incumbents Robbie Fleck at outside centre, Pieter Rossouw and Breyton Paulse on the wing and Percy Montgomery at fullback.
Veteran centre Japie Mulder, retreaded as an inside centre by Cats coach Laurie Mains, could be the tonic the previouls unimaginative Springbok backline needs, although Barry has been the best proponent of creative running rugby in the Super 12.
Mallett not also writing the minnow Canadians off, but is still likely to experiment.
“The Canadians can be very physical, so I would like to start with bext 15 against them. Then depending on how things go, we will call on some of the guys on the bench.”