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Japanese media frenzy engulfs Siya Kolisi ahead of Brighton 2015 rematch

By Online Editors
Skipper Siya Kolisi at the South Africa World Cup 2019 squad announcement in Johannesburg (Photo by Sydney Seshibedi/Gallo Images/Getty Images)

Siya Kolisi returns to lead the Springboks for the first time in nine months on Friday, with the eyes of not only South Africa but the Japanese nation on him and the Boks.

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A media contingent four times the size of one that would attend a captain’s press conference in South Africa turned up at the Kumagaya Stadium to watch the Boks’ captain’s run and press conference. But the pressure on Kolisi is purely internal.

“Rather than coming back into a team that was losing all the time, I was coming back into a team that was winning, which was extra pressure,” he told Japanese media through an interpreter.

“It was tough watching from the sidelines but the great thing was that I was involved the whole time. The coach made sure that I was in all the meetings and I ran the water in one game, which was completely amazing and different; it’s as involved as you can be in a Test match without actually playing.

“And I could see how hard the guys were working. I have to say, this is a special group and what makes them so special is that they work so hard for one another. All I was banking on was that as soon as my injury was healed I was fit and ready to take my place.

“The support I have had from my team-mates has been amazing. That’s one thing I enjoy about this team – I’m just grateful to be part of it.”

(Continue reading below…)

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Kolisi was keen to highlight the challenge posed by Japan, while the local media mentioned the World Cup defeat in Brighton in 2015 in the only previous meeting between the teams on half a dozen occasions.

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“It was tough losing that game and it did make an impact as you have seen in the interest in this game,” said Kolisi, one of eight survivors of that 34-32 defeat who will reappear on Friday.

“It did make us stronger as a team, but it really put Japan on the rugby map. They have done good things since then. They’re much fitter and stronger and they know their systems and the game they want to play and it’s going to be a whole new challenge for us.

“They’re very strong at the breakdown, they have a strong kicking game – they have a good all-round game and they can turn up the heat at any time of the game and up-the-tempo. They will want to keep the ball in hand and aim for a long ball-in-play time. We have to be prepared for anything.

“We will stick to what we know best and to our strengths. They will obviously have prepared for us – but in the same way we have prepared for them. We will have to make sure we are on our toes at all times.”

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Japanese media were keen to know what the captaincy meant to Kolisi: “I am very grateful to be the Springbok captain and it is not something that I would have thought of in my wildest dreams,” he said.

“It really makes me happy to know that a person from my background or from the background of anybody else in South Africa or a different walk of life, could be sitting here.

“The most important thing for me was just be to a Springbok – because there have not been many of them. To become captain was something extra that I never dreamed of. I am just honoured to be here and I just want to show that I can do the job by the hard I work I do on and off the field and the manner I carry myself.”

WATCH: Surplus Springbok Damian Willemse signs short-term deal for Saracens

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Bull Shark 41 minutes ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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