Strauss timing a bit questionable

The Springboks are on the hunt for captain number 58 following the bombshell dropped last week by incumbent Adriaan Strauss that this is his final season.

Strauss, 30, appointed as the 57th Springbok captain back in June, claimed he had been contemplating retirement since late in 2015 already and had informed Coach Allister Coetzee of his intention to hang up his boots earlier this year already.

Surely then already, with Bongi Mbonambi carrying tackle bags and warming the bench since the Ireland Series and Malcolm Marx staking a strong claim for the hooker's berth, it was an ideal chance already for Coetzee to make a call and look to the longer term future.

On the other hand, Coetzee may have earmarked Duane Vermeulen or Francois Louw for the captaincy role, but that would have been in total contradiction to the strong statement he made when he was introduced as the new Bok coach back in April regarding loyalty and his preference for picking home-based players.

Knowing Strauss as we do though, there was noble intent when he claimed he did not want to 'cling to the captaincy' for too long, a factor he said was a big influencing factor in his decision and it was never about himself, but always the team's interests.

"When Coach Allister approached me to lead the team, I was both humbled and honoured," Strauss said. 

"The plan was for me to serve and lead a team in transition as well as I can and take things week by week, but back then I already told him that I was thinking of retiring at the end of the season," added Strauss.

But the timing of Strauss' decision to me was questionable and fuelled my suspicion that the Bok selectors may have been looking for a cop-out or a plausible excuse to drop the affable Blue Bulls hooker.

Why unsettle a team just prior to heading for the Australasian leg of their Rugby Championship schedule and already struggling to come to terms with a confidence-shattering defeat to Argentina in Salta?

Warren Whiteley, Juan de Jongh, Oupa Mohoje, Frans Malherbe, Lood de Jager and Handré Pollard have been touted as candidates to become captain number 58, but I share the sentiment of a large bulk of my colleagues -- A captain can only be appointed if he is beyond doubt the best player in his chosen position.

If the story behind Strauss' sudden and unexpected announcement is to be bought, then good and well, it leaves us no reason to doubt the real circumstances for now, but maybe the truth will be only be revealed 

in a tell-all book after Strauss has left the game permanently.

But for now, the initial decision to appoint Strauss as Bok captain for the season, knowing full well he had intentions to retire, still remain puzzling.

Maybe Strauss himself summed it up when he said: "Every older player has this voice in the back of his head that he'd like to retire on his own terms, and I believe that is what I am doing."

Or maybe Coetzee saw it fitting to reward the blond Bulls hooker for his loyalty at that stage. Strauss is one of the players who hasn't been lured away by the Euro, Pound or Yen and played his rugby at home for the Cheetahs and the Bulls.

The question is whether Strauss will be judged on the Springboks' results under his brief tenure as captain or simply the man responsible for leading a new generation of potential Springbok stars into top flight rugby.

Or maybe he was the most convenient temporary plug for Coetzee and SA Rugby at the time as their succession plan took shape following the departure of key senior players post World Cup 2015. 

Warren Whiteley, Juan de Jongh, Oupa Mohoje, Frans Malherbe, Lood de Jager and Handré Pollard are seen as the other strong contenders for the captaincy.

Coetzee lauded Strauss for the role he is playing in empowering a new generation of Springbok players and developing a new team culture.

The question, as always, unfortunately remains - will the fans have enough patience to ride out this transitional period or will they point the guns in Strauss' direction and call for his head before he can even see out the year ? 

Mini-Biography for Adriaan Strauss: 

Springbok #800

Date and place of birth: 18 November 1985, Bloemfontein

Physical: 1.84m, 112kg

Education: Grey College, Bloemfontein; University of Pretoria

Springbok Test debut: SA vs Australia in Perth, 2008

Springbok Test caps and points: 59; 30 pts (6 tries)

Became the 57th Springbok captain in June 2016

Super Rugby teams: Toyota Cheetahs, Vodacom Bulls (captained both teams)

Super Rugby appearances: 132 (Toyota Cheetahs 97, a franchise record; Vodacom Bulls 35)

Super Rugby points: 70 (14 tries)

Vodacom Super Rugby Player of the Year in 2013

Other teams: SA Schools (2003), SA U19 (2004), SA U21 (2005-06), British Barbarians (2011)