Springbok coach Jake White landed a small surprise when he named centre Jean de Villiers to lead the team in their unofficial match against the World XV in Johannesburg on Saturday.
De Villiers, by his own admission, has limited captaining experience but feels he is equipped for the job.
White obviously backs him saying,”Jean brings an extra edge and with the added responsibility he should do well.”
The Stormers centre beat out a host of more experienced captains, but White insisted that the other candidates had their own games to focus on as they were Test potentials.
The match will give a few players the chance to impress ahead of the Scottish Test, with winger Andre Snyman prominent as is AJ Venter, Joe van Niekerk, Danie Rossouw and Jaco van der Westuyzen.
The team is a great blend of youth and experience and 350-odd Test caps for the starting team alone add importance.
Percy Montgomery will start at fullback and will provide the thrust of the experience, as well as share the kicking duties, if not be the first-choice kicker himself.
The Boks have picked a relatively lightweight pack, an indication of the style of game expected against the free-running world team.
But this does not mean White will deviate too much from his master plan.
Ruan Pienaar starts on the bench and is likely to get game time, a prelude to a Bok debut the following week.
White did ensure that the captaincy issue won’t be a problem next week, saying that John Smit would take over the reigns.
Springboks: Percy Montgomery; Andre Snyman, Jaque Fourie, Jean de Villiers, Gaffie du Toit; Jaco van der Westhuyzen, Enrico Januarie; Joe van Niekerk, AJ Venter, Wikus van Heerden; Albert van den Berg, Danie Rossouw; Eddie Andrews, Hanyani Shimange, Deon Carstens. Replacements: Gary Botha, Lawrence Sephaka, Johann Muller, Pedri Wannenburg, Ruan Pienaar, Wynand Olivier, Brent Russell, Wayne Julies. — Sapa