Andre Vos is ready to start the battle to retain his captaincy of the Springbok team when he makes his return to the field after a month-long layoff in Saturday's Currie Cup semifinal against Western Province at Newlands.

Vos fractured his eye socket in the Top Eight game against WP at Ellis Park - his comeback game after being concussed against the Wallabies in Durban on August 26. This has led to a lot of speculation that new Bok coach Harry Viljoen may appoint a new captain, with the names of Corne Krige, Mark Andrews and Johan Erasmus mentioned as possible successors.

Viljoen, however, told a Sunday newspaper that all Vos needs to do in order to retain his captaincy and Test berth is to convince him of his fitness on Saturday. Since his appointment Viljoen, who will name his 40-man Bok squad after the second semifinal between the Sharks and Cheetahs, hasn't spoken to any Springbok player, but said he will this week speak to senior players about his plans and to Vos about the captaincy.

Viljoen told another newspaper: "I have a responsibility to Andre Vos. Captains have been so badly managed in the past. This will give me an opportunity to meet the guy."

Vos said on Sunday he hadn't heard anything about the captaincy or his position in the team, but all he wants to do now is get back on the field and play. "No, Harry did not contact me and I haven't heard anything from anybody.

"It's been a frustrating few weeks for me and now I'm really looking forward to getting back onto the field. I want to have a good game and whatever happens afterwards happens."

Vos added that besides playing well, there is nothing else he can do to convince Viljoen he is the right man for the job. "Look, if he feels like appointing a new captain, there is not much I can do about it. There is no point in saying too much about this issue, my objective is just to have a good game on the weekend and to take things from there."

The No 8 admits he feels the pressure, but added he is a much wiser captain now than at the beginning of the year when he took over the captaincy from Joost van der Westhuizen. "You learn through the difficult times, when the results don't go your way. I now have the experience and if I get the chance again, I'll obviously put it to good use."

Vos said he hasn't had the chance to work with Viljoen before, but if given the opportunity he would look forward to it. "I heard a lot of good things about Harry," he added.

The captain is chuffed with the Lions' performances the last couple of weeks and is raring to take to the field. "It's been a few frustrating weeks on the sidelines for me. It doesn't feel as if there's anything wrong and I've been training in the gymnasium with the guys and so on, but I just haven't been able to play.

"Now, I just hope to win back my place in the team and do well on the weekend - I'm really looking forward to the game. Our guys have done really well and the whole team is playing excellently. They've done well to come back so brilliantly after the disappointing loss against WP earlier on."

Meanwhile, Viljoen is expected to name his management team early this week and former Springbok coach Ian McIntosh and new Elephants coach Allister Coetzee are expected to be on board.