Pat Lambie will get the chance to audition for the South Africa captaincy when he leads the team in Saturday's clash with the Barbarians at Wembley.
The versatile Sharks back will take the armband in place of hooker Adriaan Strauss, who is being rested for the non-cap international at England's national football stadium.
Strauss is retiring at the end of the season and Springboks coach Allister Coetzee is already looking at candidates to take over in the long-term as he maps out a plan towards the 2019 World Cup in Japan.
Lambie said: "To play for the Springboks is a big honour and the captaincy comes with a huge amount of responsibility. South Africa has a proud rugby tradition, and the whole squad are excited to represent our country against the Barbarians."
The 26-year-old has played at full-back in his last two international outings, having previously been utilised in the main at fly-half.
But Coetzee feels Lambie can have an impact as captain wherever he plays, now that a three-month absence caused by concussion is well behind him.
"Patrick was always part of the leadership group and part of the spine of the Springbok team," Coetzee said.
"He has excelled as a leader at franchise level and has the respect of his peers. He understands the team culture and has a great understanding of the game and the way we want to play.
"I have no doubt that he will make a success of his appointment as captain for this match.
"Adriaan still plays an important role in the squad, by giving support to Patrick and also helping Bongi Mbonambi and Malcolm Marx with technical detail, and he has bought into my succession plan.
"He understands the bigger picture, and he will be back to lead the team again against England at Twickenham next weekend."
The England clash on November 12 marks the start of South Africa's autumn international campaign, which also features matches against Italy on November 19 and Wales on November 26.
Coetzee is expected to play a young side at Wembley, with potentially as many as 12 uncapped players involved at some stage.