One of the few certainties about the Springboks is that a new captain will be appointed in 2017.

Adriaan Strauss long ago ruled himself out, an astonishing decision given how treasured the position is for most laaities growing up in South Africa. For a bloke who attended illustrious rugby school Grey College to abandon that post is a huge indictment. Perhaps, like the coaching job, the captaincy has become too heavy a yoke to bear.

If the current rules apply, the new captain won’t be Duane Vermeulen or Francois Louw. There is no appetite for a captain who plays his rugby overseas. It’s not a good look.

What’s more, Vermeulen’s position is curious. There’s been some cute spin around his recent non-availability, suffice to say that he and the suits don’t quite see eye to eye. There’s some repair work to be done.

All things being equal, Vermeulen is South Africa’s number one number eight. He’s the bruising sort of player whose presence galvanises his teammates. He would have been shocked by what he witnessed of the recent tour; he wouldn’t have recognised the meek performances, for that’s not how he plays.

Which brings us to the case of Warren Whiteley, the most classical eighthman we have. The Lions skipper is a formidable figure, brave and hard-working. He is warm and approachable and thoroughly well-spoken. His Lions teammates gravitated towards him in Super Rugby on account of his sterling workrate.

But there’s only one winner when he and Vermeulen are in the mix for the eighthman’s jersey. We saw as much in the recent series of Test matches. Whiteley was all honest endeavour, but was unable to impose his will, albeit when few of his teammates did.

The captain has to be assured of his position, which means that Whiteley cannot be the long-term pick (assuming a rapprochement is made between Vermeulen and management).

Pat Lambie was in the mix before Strauss was appointed, but is he the man to take the Boks to 2019? He, too, struggled on the tour and might not have the gravitas of a national captain. He would certainly be different, but he’s not the type of man to gee up his troops when the pressure is on. He’s also not the player to take a game by the scruff and dominate.

For my money, the best man to assign the captaincy – and to build a new team around – is Handre Pollard. It might be a case of out of sight, out of mind due to the flyhalf’s long-term injury, but Pollard is back in training and should be dead right in time for the new season.

Just 22, the Bulls player is a former world junior player of the year and memorably cut the All Blacks to pieces with two splendid tries at Ellis Park in 2014. He’s big and brave and plays flat.

Pollard also offers a freshness that the Boks desperately require. He can mix up the running and kicking game and has the presence and bearing that would make him comfortable before the public and media. He wouldn’t mind the tough questions and the glad-handing that are job prerequisites.

Of course there’s a caveat to Pollard taking the job. He needs to get back his A game. Don’t forget, among his injuries was a severe shoulder problem where amputation was a real possibility after complications from surgery. For him to merely be attending the Bulls training camp in George this week is a miracle in itself.

In an odd twist, Pollard will likely play under Strauss at the Bulls next season, but he has the experience of leading a top team. Two years ago he captained SA under-20 to the final of the junior world championship. Reports from New Zealand were glowing.

Pollard’s injury hasn’t been all bad. He was probably fortunate not to make this tour, one where reputations were blown and many big names crashed and burned. He wasn’t associated with the 2016 international season in any way.

That in itself can be no bad thing for the man to whom we ought to turn to help salvage the damage of an unspeakably bad year. – © Sunday Tribune