Bok captain Siya Kolisi set for stint in the coaches box

The talismanic captain was named in the touring party but then left out of Erasmus' matchday squad to face Argentina in Santiago del Estero on Saturday. Of course, this was all part of the larger plan.

Speaking to the press on Tuesday after the squad announcement, Erasmus revealed that Kolisi is set to swap headgear for headphones for Saturday's match. Former Bok behemoth Duane Vermeulen has been patrolling the sidelines as part of the coaching team and Erasmus wants his captain to learn the communication structure.

"Siya was brought here not to play, but as standby, if someone gets injured," he explained.

"But he is also helping to prepare the team off the field while preparing for this important game. So it was always the plan that he wouldn't play.

"The one thing we also want to do is get Siya in the coaches box. We've got Duane on the sideline who relays the messages to Siya and the decision-makers on the field.

"But he actually doesn't know what is happening in that coaches box so we want to give him a feel of how we get to a decision or how we send a message down so that he understands the whole process.

"Two years ago, Duane had a better understanding of how to interpret information he received and we hope to do the same with Siya this week."

Kolisi suffered a head clash in the first Rugby Champion match against New Zealand last month, breaking his nose. Erasmus revealed that this is still to be mended, but only after the second Test against the Los Pumas in Mbombela on 28 September.

"Siya can play in Mbombela next week and then he can have a reset so he will have it fixed after Mbombela," he confirmed.

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