'Captain Fabulous' Refiloe Jane 'honoured' to lead Banyana to second World Cup appearance

South Africa’s “Captain Fabulous”, Refiloe Jane, said she was honoured to lead Banyana Banyana into their second FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand next month.

Jane was named outright captain by Banyana head coach Desiree Ellis at last Friday’s 23-member squad announcement. The Sassuolo (Italy) midfielder previously shared the armband with veteran defender Janine van Wyk, who is unavailable for World Cup selection.

The duo last year led the country to its first Women’s Africa Cup of Nations (Wafcon) title after defeating Morocco on their patch as Banyana received a heroes' welcome back in South Africa.

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“I feel blessed, firstly, to be selected as part of the team. And I feel honoured and privileged to be named team captain going into the World Cup,” Jane told News24.

“I know we have a lot of experience in the team and leaders that will also help in pushing the troops forward. This will not be a one-person job but a team effort. But I obviously have to lead by example.”

Van Wyk, 36, withdrew from selection contention for the global showpiece citing injury concerns and “not feeling at her best”.

A boatload of 183 international caps will be missed following Van Wyk’s withdrawal, the most-capped South African international in history.

“We all know that Janine is the most capped player and the most experienced we’ve had in the team and her missing out will be a huge blow to the team,” said Jane.

“But we’ve learnt a lot of lessons from her, key things. And going into the tournament, we will try to put those in place going into the World Cup.

“Above that, it’s going to take a lot of effort from the team, a lot of team spirit and