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STELLENBOSCH. — Adriaan Strauss will captain South Africa in a three-Test rugby home series against Ireland during June, new national coach Allister Coetzee announced on Monday in Stellenbosch near Cape Town.

The hooker succeeds veteran centre Jean de Villiers, who retired from Test rugby after being injured during the Rugby World Cup in England last year and later joined the Leicester Tigers.

Northern Bulls skipper Strauss made his Test debut against Australia in 2008 and has been capped 54 times.

He will lead the Springboks into a new era with nearly half the World Cup squad not chosen to face the Irish due to retirements, age or locals being preferred to those playing abroad.

Coetzee has spelt out what he expects from the 30-year-old forward who will captain the country that were the 1995 and 2007 world rugby champions.

“I would like to make sure that the captain of the national side should be there to make sure that we win Test matches,” he said.

“Adriaan’s leadership qualities are impressive and well established and he has the respect of his team-mates on and off the field. I have no doubt he will be successful in his role as Springbok captain, which is a huge responsibility.”

Strauss greeted his appointment by saying: “I am incredibly humbled by this huge honour and also excited about the role.

“It is not everyone that gets the opportunity to lead the Springboks, so I consider myself very blessed indeed.

“I will be able to lean on the assistance of a great leadership group within the squad — there is a fantastic energy in the squad, but the hard work starts now.”

South Africa are based in university town Stellenbosch, 50 kilometres east of Cape Town, for the first week of their preparations. — AFP.