'It would be historic' - Siya Kolisi could out-do Nelson Mandela according to Springboks legend
Should Springboks captain Siya Kolisi lift aloft the World Cup in Yokohama later this year, it would be a more impactful moment than the iconic image of Nelson Mandela handing the Webb Ellis Trophy to Francois Pienaar in 1995.
That’s the verdict from Springboks legend Bryan Habana in a lengthy interview with The Guardian.
Kolisi is the first-ever black captain of the Springboks, and is set to lead a resurgent South African side to this year’s World Cup in Japan in what’s likely to be the most competitive World Cup in recent memory.
Habana, the now-retired 35-year-old wing who won the World Cup with South Africa in 2007, said he was inspired to get involved in rugby after watching President Mandela hand the Webb Ellis Trophy to Springboks skipper Pienaar following the Springboks’ maiden World Cup success 24 years ago.
Mandela had used to Springboks to unite a racially-divided South Africa throughout the tournament of which they were hosting for the first time since the abolishment of their ban from international rugby by World Rugby – then known as the International Rugby Board (IRB) – in 1992.
After defeating the All Blacks 15-12 after extra-time in the final at Ellis Park in Johannesburg, Mandela emerged onto the pitch donning a Springboks jersey – a team which was adored by white Afrikaners and loathed by the country’s black majority throughout Apartheid – in a symbolic gesture which represented a post-Apartheid, rainbow nation South Africa.
Despite admitting that he regards the All Blacks as favourites to claim an unprecedented hat-trick of world crowns, Habana – a joint record-holder for most World Cup tries (15) – didn’t mince his words when it came to explaining the impact Kolisi would have in lifting the World Cup in four months’ time.
“I think it would have a much greater impact than ’95,” he said.
“I think seeing Siya run out as captain in June last year pulled on the emotional strings like ’95, and rightly so.
“For me personally, knowing Siya, knowing his personal history where he literally got raised by his grandmother, had nothing, then got an opportunity … for me this is about a player who first and foremost got chosen on his rugby playing ability.
“He got made captain on his leadership capabilities and thrived on that responsibility. He wasn’t a token player, being given a position because of our country’s history.
“If South Africa go on and win a World Cup this year outside of South Africa, with Siya Kolisi as the captain, it will be absolutely monumental, especially in a World Cup that is going to be so tough to win.
“For us as a country to have that inspiration, for 70 per cent of our population to have that example, would be immensely important, on a par with Mandela in ’95 if not greater. It would be historic.”
Of mixed race himself, Habana praised head coach Rassie Erasmus for producing one of the most harmonious and best-performing Springboks squads in years as the complex and ongoing power struggle between races within South Africa continues.
Last year, the Springboks beat then-Six Nations champions England 2-1 over a three-match test series, upset the All Blacks 36-34 in Wellington, and came up just shy of completing the double over their arch-rivals following an 80th-minute conversion by Richie Mo’unga to an Ardie Savea try which secured a 32-30 win in Pretoria.
Although he retired more than a year ago due to an ongoing knee injury, Habana will be involved at this year’s World Cup as an analyst and broadcaster.
In other news:
Comments on RugbyPass
We’re building a bridge but can't agree where the river is.
2 Go to commentsfirst no arms shoulder or helmet tackle into his rib cage is going to be so very painful even to watch. go back to RU mate.
2 Go to commentsBulls by 5. Plus another 50.
3 Go to commentsJohan Goosen avatar. Cute. Surely someone at RP knows how to do a google image search?
3 Go to commentsCan’t these games play a little earlier? Asking for a friend.
3 Go to commentsIt’s impressive that we can see huge stadiums with attendance in the 40 000 to 50 000 region. It shows how popular this competition is becoming. What is even more impressive is the massive growth in broadcast viewership. The URC is one of the two best leagues in the World, the other being the Top14.
7 Go to commentsChristie is not Sottish, like the majority of the Scotland team.
2 Go to commentsHold the phone, decline over-rated. Is it a one game, dead cat bounce or the real thing? Has the Penney dropped? Stay tuned.
45 Go to commentsTotally deserved win for the Crusaders Far smarter than the Chiefs who seem to be avoiding the basics when it matters Hotham showed them what was missing and Hannah seems a real find - a tad light but that can be fixed over time
8 Go to commentsGreat insight into the performance culture with Sarries and I predict Christie will be a fixture in the Scotland team now for some time to come. However, he is slightly missing his own point around Scotland “being soft” when he cites physicality examples in defence of that slight. The issue is much closer to the example he referenced around feeling off before a game but being told “it doesn’t matter, you can still play well” by Farrell. Until Scotland can get their psyche in that square, they will carry on folding under extreme pressure…
2 Go to comments> We are having to adapt, evolve and innovate more than when we were in Super Rugby where there was only really one style that everybody had to play to gain the most success. Have = able to? Interesting what that one style might be? I thought SA sides still had bad tours now, or at least bad schedule, months away? Those extra few hours flights have to be a killer though, no surprise to see their sides doing so badly at the start of the season each year. I wouldn’t enjoy that unfairness as a supporter.
7 Go to commentsThe problem for NZ, and Aus, is they ripped up the SR model and lost a massive chunk of revenue that hasn’t been replaced. Don’t forget SA clubs went North because they were left with no choice, Argy unceremoniously binned and Japan cast adrift. Now SR wasn’t perfect, far from it, but they’ve jumped into something without an effective plan, so far, to replace what they’ve lost. The biggest revenue potential now lies in Japan but it won’t be easy or quick to unlock, they are incredibly insular in culture as a nation. In the meantime, there is a serious time bomb sitting under SH rugby and if it happens then the current financial challenges will look like a picnic. IF the Boks follow their provincial teams and head north then it’s revenue meltdown. Not guaranteed to happen but the status quo is a very odd hybrid, with the Boks pointing one way and the clubs pointing the other way. And for as long as that remains then the threat is real.
45 Go to commentsI think Etene has had some good tuition, likely while at the Warriors to be a professional that helped his rugby jump, but he was certainly thrown in the deep end way too early. Should have arguably 20 less SR caps, and therefor a way better record that he does at his age, but his development would have been fast tracked by the need to satiate his signing away from league. Again, credit to him and others that he has done it so well. Easy to fall over under that pressure in the big leagues like that but he kept at it when I myself wasn’t sure he was good enough.
1 Go to commentsAwesome story. I wonder what a bigger American (SA) scene might have mean for Brex.
1 Go to comments“Johnny McNicholl and the Crusaders” save a Penney. Who has been in camp this week and showed them how to play?
8 Go to commentsSo, reports of the Crusaders’ demise / terminal decline are perhaps just - slightly - premature/exaggerated…? 🤔 Will we see a deep-dive into that by the estimable Rugbypass scribes, and maybe one or two mea culpas? Thought not.
8 Go to comments1. The Chiefs are rudderless without DMac, which enhances his AB chances 2. Chiefs pack are powderpuffs. The hard men arent there anymore 3. They had their golden title chance last yr and wont threaten this yr. Gone in second round of playoffs.
8 Go to commentsHonestly, why did you have to publish such a foolish article the day they play us? 😂
45 Go to comments> They are not standalone entities. They are linked to an amateur association which holds the FFR licence that allows the professional side to compete in the league. That’s a great rule. This looks like the chicken or egg professional scenario. How long is it going to be before the club can break even (if that is even a thing in French rugby)? If the locals aren’t into well it would be good to se them drop to amateur level (is it that far?). Hope they can reset from this level and be more practical, there will be a time when they can rebuild (if France has there setup right).
1 Go to commentsWhat about changing the ball? To something heavier and more pointed that bounces unpredictably. Not this almost round football used these days.
35 Go to comments