Scott Barrett reflects on ‘demanding’ year as All Blacks captain

Between now and 2027, I think the captaincy will be shared among several players as Siya’s playing time is carefully managed—a strategy the Springboks have been implementing for some time. Younger players like Salmaan Moerat might get opportunities to captain in tier-two matches, as we’ve already seen. Other emerging talents like Jordan Hendrikse and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu could also be considered, though the Boks have traditionally favored forwards for captaincy roles. Damian Willemse is another possibility, but he first needs to play his way back into the team.

My personal feeling is that there should be an effort to appoint a black captain to replace Siya. His captaincy has been pivotal in broadening rugby's appeal across racial groups in South Africa over the past 7 years. More so than any other period in the last 30 years.

Form permitting, Moerat is a strong contender, given his leadership qualities and pedigree. However, some might view such an appointment as political, potentially overlooking Moerat's real potential and the broader significance of such a decision.

Other players with leadership potential have been mentioned in the past, such as Phepsi Buthelezi. However, it remains to be seen whether the former DHS star will secure a permanent spot in the Springbok lineup. The first Zulu captain of the Springboks? Would be nice, but unlikely given the competition for the 8 jersey.

One positive aspect of the uncertainty around Siya’s long-term successor is the way the Springboks have emphasized shared leadership among senior players. This approach has lessened the pressure on a single captain and allowed the team to thrive collectively.

When Siya was first appointed, there was skepticism about his leadership credentials. And whether he was the best 6 in the country. The shared leadership strategy gave him the support and platform to grow into the exceptional captain he is today. And he's proven critics wrong about his abilities as a player.

I find it interesting that he's playing at 8 for the Sharks. Rassie has made a habit of taking 36ers and above to the World Cup, players who bring options to the table like Frans Steyn, Schalk Brits, Duane Vermeulen and more recently Deon Fourie.

All of SA wants to see Siya win a 3rd World Cup. That's for sure.

And if he goes, he'll lead.

Hitler's rationale included the retaking of German areas, but it wasn't limited to that. Hitler wanted to colonise and dominate as much land as possible, so his ambitions were much broader than just areas with historical german populations.

Where is this list that includes Hungary and Austria? How would Russia go about taking all these places? Ukraine is taking them a while and costing them a lot of soldiers. Hitler took France in a matter of weeks, but Putin has taken 3 years to gain a few dozen miles in Ukraine. At this rate he'll die of old age before getting anywhere near Poland.

I'm aware that Putin and Netanyahu are on the same side, but Netanyahu is also on the same side as Biden, Harris, Starmer (and Trump and Sunak). This isn't a situation where the west are the goodies.

There is a hot war with Russia now. They are winning in Ukraine, but its a war of attrition, not a blitzkreig.

"Settler colonialism? What exactly do you think the plans are? Crimea?"

I think the plans aren't colonial. If you think they are then you should make that argument, not just have a tantrum because I disagree with you.

Settler colonialism? What exactly do you think the plans are? Crimea?

Do you need to study history before you can engage in the comments section of a rugby website? Of course not.

Is a decent understanding of relevant history needed for informed comment on the above article? Yes

Happy to clear that up for you.

Presumably PSDT, Eztebeth, Mbonambi, or Pollard could take on the role on a short term basis if Kolisi falls out of the international picture before they do, but none of them would be great long term options (they're all either too old to be playing every single game, or based outside of SA).

A good man. If he gets his form at test level right, I reckon he may be Siya’s successor as captain. He has all the potential to do so.

Queue the detractors…

Only the second Paarl Boys high 1st team captain to captain SA u20 and the Boks.

And in time to take more game time from Eben who needs to play less if he’s going to make it to 2027. More of Eben in the bombsquad please.

I've expressed doubts in the past about whether he'll ever be on the same level as Etzebeth, Mostert, or de Jager, but I really hope he proves me wrong.

Is the thinking that Snyman, Moerat, Nortje, and Etzebeth will likely be contending for the starting spots in 2027? Or is van Heerden developing fast enough to put in a challenge as well?

"I think the Eddie Jones style development player approach is whats called for"

(i) Why?

(ii) The churn of players under Eddie Jones was generally considered to be quite a bad thing. Do you want Guy Pepper, Ted Hill, Ben Curry, etc. to give up and go to France like Marchant did?

(iii) England already have a really young squad, and especially a young back row. If they do badly in the six nations Borthwick will probably lose his job, so shouldn't they prioritise winning in the short term and developing the players already in the squad, rather than bringing in newer, younger, guys?

(iv) England have a development tour in June. If you really want Pollock to be in the squad prior to graduating the u20s, why not wait until the summer?

I get that making loads of tackles is tiring, but so is building multi-phase attacks. I'm just worried England would get tired out from attacking, then struggle to get set when they're subjected to counter attacks.