Bongi Mbonambi says he is honoured with a career milestone of captaining the Springboks in the World Cup warm-up match against Argentina in Buenos Aires.
Mbonambi – who will earn his 60th Test cap this weekend – takes over the captain’s responsibilities in the absence of regular captain, Siya Kolisi, who is close to making his return from knee surgery.
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The Bethlehem-raised 32-year-old expressed his delight at being entrusted with the position during the pre-match press conference on Friday afternoon.
“Growing up, I never would have imagined getting myself into this position,” he said. “It has been a long journey for me. Some guys get it very quickly in their careers and some guys get it later in their careers.
“I am very honoured and privileged. It’s a massive milestone. I know my parents are very proud. My family and supporters are very proud of me.
“I have been getting a lot of messages. Siya did send me a message, encouraging me and congratulating me.”
Mbonambi is the latest player to be appointed as matchday captain, with the Springboks rotating between Duane Vermeulen and Eben Etzebeth in the Rugby Championship.
Neither Vermeulen nor Etzebeth will be involved in Buenos Aires, as the Boks have opted to give a bunch of players their opportunity to impress before the World Cup squad is named.
Mbonambi is content that he will have enough support in the leadership department on Saturday.
“Outside of Siya, there are other leaders in this team, you have guys like Lukhanyo Am and Jesse Kriel in the backline,” Mbonambi said.
“It’s not just myself in the pack, we’ve got Steven Kitshoff – even if he’s not playing, he has been in my ear this week giving me advice. We have a massive leadership group. Marvin Orie leads our lineouts and Jean Kleyn has grown as a leader in this team, especially on defence.
“Being captain, I just need to make sure we have the ref on our side and have a clear line of communication, keeping it respectable.”
Even though the Springboks are on a seven-game winning run against Argentina, Mbonambi is anticipating a difficult game, especially as Los Pumas will be celebrating veteran hooker Agustin Creevy’s 100th Test match.
“Playing Argentina in front of their home crowd, there is definitely going to be a lot of passion from their side, a lot of energy. It’s Creevy’s 100th game, he is on the bench but they will be trying to make it special for him. Julian Montoya is a great leader and they take a lot of energy from him.
“It’s going to be tough. It’s never easy playing here. We know that they will be up for the game.”
Photo: Twitter/@Springboks
