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Springboks captain Siya Kolisi will be taking on a very different role in the Springbok side for the upcoming clash against Argentina according to coach Rassie Erasmus.

Despite not being named in the squad of 23, Kolisi travelled with the team to South America ahead of this weekend’s Rugby Championship encounter with Los Pumas.

The Springboks have the opportunity to take the Rugby Championship title if they beat the Pumas in Santiago del Estero, but instead of leading the boys on the field, Kolisi will be sitting with Rassie in the coaches box, just like the Boks did with Duane Vermeulen in the Rugby World Cup of 2023.

“Siya was brought here not to play, but as standby, if someone gets injured. But also helping to prepare the team off the field while preparing for this important game. It was always the plan that he wouldn’t play.”

“The one thing we also want to do is get Siya in the coaches box. We’ve Duane on the side who relays the messages to Siya and the decision-makers on the field. But he actually doesn’t know what is happening in the coaches box so we want to give him a feel of how we get to a decision or how we send a message down so that he understands the whole process.”

“Two years ago Duane had a better understanding of how to interpret information he received and we hope to do the same with Siya this week.”

We can’t help but think Rassie is playing the long game again, and it won’t surprise us if Siya joins the Springbok coaching team when he eventually hangs up his boots.

For now, Kolisis still has a broken nose to deal with though, but according to the coach, it can be mended after the conclusion of the Rugby Championship.

“Siya can play in Mbombela next week and then he can have a reset, so he will have it fixed after Mbombela.”

Los Pumas will be keen to pull off another shocking victory this weekend, similar to their defeating the Wallabies by a record margin and the All Blacks in Wellington.

“They are doing things again that they did in the old days. They don’t have a competition where their franchises can play,” Erasmus said. “Their coach [Felipe Contepomi] brings them together and they go and beat New Zealand in New Zealand and they smash Australia. That just shows you there is massive character.”

“And we’ve always felt it is one of the toughest places to play rugby, not because of a hostile crowd, not because of altitude. It’s because their players are very desperate and they have a good coach who has been all over the world and he will bring a bit of Leinster taste into it, but they will have the Argentinian spirit which is tough to stop.”

Ja, but they will be up against the Boks, so they better bring their A+ game.

Speaking of powerhouses, Eben Etzebeth is set to draw level with Victor Matfield’s record as the most capped Springbok in history when he makes his 127th appearance in green and gold.

The 32-year-old could then go on to break the record when the Springboks and Los Pumas meet in Nelspruit on September 28, and Matfield has no qualms about that.

“I don’t think there’s a better guy to do it. It’s a privilege for me that the best Bok of all time takes over the record from me and that the record stays with the locks.”

🙌 Victor Matfield couldn’t be happier that Eben Etzebeth will be equalling his all-time appearance record this weekend. #ARGvRSA #RugbyChampionship

READ: https://t.co/QGwaS84OVq pic.twitter.com/HXlF8Jbw0n

— Planet Rugby (@PlanetRugby) September 18, 2024

[source:planetrugby]