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Cape Town - The Stormers are yet to announce their captain for the 2016 Super Rugby season, and they are not expected to do so until next week at the earliest.
With the Japanese season having just come to an end and with a couple of players away on Sevens duty with the Blitzboks, Stormers coach Robbie Fleck confirmed this week that decisions surrounding the leadership of the squad would not be taken until everybody was present.
"We haven’t selected our leadership group yet because we’re all waiting for everyone to return back from Japan and Sevens duty," said Fleck.
"Once we have our full squad in place which is effectively Monday, we can then put that together."
Fleck has a number of options at his disposal in terms of the captaincy, with Schalk Burger and Frans Malherbe the reported front-runners for the post.
"It’s a young group, but if you think about Eben (Etzebeth), Frans (Malherbe), Siya (Kolisi), Skalla (Burger), Damian (De Allende) … these guys are seasoned players," said Fleck.
"They’ve all played World Cups. There’s enough leadership here even though their age says differently.
"They might be 24 or 25 years old, but they’ve got experience. These guys, like Frans and Eben, have been playing Super Rugby since the age of 20 or 21.
"Their age might say they’re young, but they’ve certainly got experience in terms of their mental and emotional space and the way they think about the game. I’m very happy with what we’ve got."
Last season saw Duane Vermeulen, now with Toulon in France, captain the Stormers while De Jongh was appointed Currie Cup captain of Western Province.
Nizaam Carr is another who has previously been identified as a future Stormers captain.
