Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
South African captain Adriaan Strauss is to retire from international rugby at the end of the season, SA Rugby confirmed today. Having been named captain this year he has led his country in test matches against Ireland and Argentina. He is the 57th Springbok captain.
He was selected to lead South Africa by Head Coach Allister Coetzee. Strauss told SA Rugby that “when Coach Allister approached me to lead the team, I was both humbled and honored. 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.”
Coetzee is aware of his captain’s intentions. “I’ve known since day one that Adriaan was planning to retire at the end of 2016, but he is a vital component in our team and his role has been part of our succession planning in any case,” he commented.
With there being no Rugby Championship matches this coming weekend the Springboks, and others, are recovering from the opening two rounds. South Africa will play their round three match in Brisbane against Australia. The September 10 fixture will be followed by a September 17 assignment against New Zealand in Christchurch.
