LEADER OF MEN: Swiss Army Knife Esterhuizen becomes ninth new Springbok captain in Rassie era

Utility player Andr é Esterhuizen will become the 68th man to lead the Springboks in a Test when they take on the Wallabies in Perth on Sunday.

Centre, flank, hybrid and now captain. Andr é Esterhuizen wears many caps in the Springbok squad and the latest is reward for his selflessness and team-first attitude.

On Tuesday, coach Rassie Erasmus revealed that Esterhuizen would captain the Boks against the Wallabies in Perth on Sunday, becoming South Africa’s 68th Test skipper.

The giant, hard-running, no-nonsense all-rounder, Swiss army knife of a player, who has affectionately earned the nickname “Ganda-ganda” in Xhosa, meaning tractor, joins an illustrious and select group of men.

Esterhuizen is the ninth man to be asked to captain the team for the first time in the Erasmus era, starting in 2018 (Eben Etzebeth has captained the side under Erasmus, but made his captaincy debut in 2017).

It’s just another sign of the depth and inclusivity of the squad that of those 10 previous captains, including Etzebeth, eight of them are still available for selection.

“Andr é ’s been the Sharks’ captain. He’s been one of the players that whenever you ask something from him, whether it’s being a hybrid player or playing behind Damian de Allende and Damian Willemse, and then accepting to play as a forward and a backline player, he always puts the team first,” Erasmus said from Terrigal in New South Wales where the Boks are based.

“We would love to see Andr é in this situation against a really strong Australian team. Obviously. We feel it’s not just the honour of him getting captaincy, but it will also help us as a team going forward into the World Cup, to have more guys that know what it feels like to lead the Springboks.

“The way Andr é carried himself while being the Sharks’ captain when they went through a tough time was impressive. I really thought he sort of pulled them together with JP (Pietersen – coach) and the whole set-up there.

“What he has meant to us, serving the team a helluva lot and accepting his role as flanker or centre or playing off the bench, that’s the kind of players we enjoy in the team.”

There are only two survivors from the starting team that beat the All Blacks 43-28 in Baltimore to seal a 3-1 Greatest Rivalry series win. Etzebeth retains his place at lock while left wing Ethan Hooker also gets another chance as Erasmus looks to rotate and build depth.

Canan Moodie will join Esterhuizen in the midfield from the start while skilful fullback Aphelele Fassi and lightning wing Edwill van der Merwe are back in the mix.

Flyhalf Handré Pollard returns for the first time since July having overcome a calf muscle injury that ruled him out of the second Test against the All Blacks in Cape Town last month.

Up front Marco van Staden starts at No 8, in a position the Boks view differently to the rest of the world. Erasmus reiterated that in his view, the only defining feature of the eighthman is where he scrums. Outside of that, his role is highly flexible.