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Siya Kolisi declared fit to face All Blacks with Pieter-Steph du Toit decision reversed
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Rassie Erasmus has confirmed that Siya Kolisi will start and captain South Africa against the All Blacks in Cape Town on Saturday after successfully coming through the final stages of his return from a hamstring injury.
Kolisi was initially bracketed with Paul de Villiers when Erasmus named his side on Monday, with the Springbok coaches giving the 104-cap flanker additional time to prove his fitness. Pieter-Steph du Toit was consequently announced as captain for what will be his 100th Test.
The 35-year-old has now “run full-out” on consecutive days without experiencing any discomfort, clearing him to make his return after missing last weekend’s 33-16 defeat to New Zealand at Ellis Park in the opening Test of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series. Kolisi originally suffered the injury during South Africa’s 17-10 victory over Argentina earlier this month.
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Erasmus explained that naming Du Toit as captain was simply a precaution while Kolisi worked through the medical process, rather than an indication of any change in the Springboks’ leadership hierarchy. The head coach also felt removing that responsibility from Du Toit would allow the back-rower to concentrate on his landmark appearance.
Kolisi’s inclusion confirms the fourth change to the starting XV from Johannesburg, joining Ethan Hooker, Cobus Reinach and Handre Pollard. De Villiers consequently drops out of the matchday squad, while Du Toit remains on the other flank alongside Kolisi and Jasper Wiese in the back-row.
“Siya is 100 percent, he will be starting and he will be captain,” Erasmus confirmed.
“We told him he needs to be able to run full-out on Monday, and he did that yesterday and today without any discomfort, so he is good to go.
“The only reason why we announced Pieter-Steph as captain is if a player has to go through a medical period on a Monday, and he has to be captain and he withdraws in the middle of a training session because his hamstring didn’t last, then all of a sudden we have to switch captaincy again.
“Where Pietie just took it for us on Monday, so Siya can concentrate on doing his job, and today me and Pietie had a chat.
“It is his 100th match, and in such a match you probably don’t want to have captaincy and a lot of other things around you, you really want to play well.
“For us and for South Africa Siya means a lot. Pietie was excellent as captain, but Siya is our captain at this stage. Those 25 minutes he played against Argentina; he played really well.
“And obviously it’s not just his game. Also, he is a very inspirational person and a guy that means a lot to us on and off the field.”
Updated South Africa XV: 15 Damian Willemse (DHL Stormers); 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse (Mitsubishi Dynaboars), 13 Jesse Kriel (Canon Eagles), 12 Damian de Allende (Wild Knights), 11 Ethan Hooker (Hollywoodbets Sharks); 10 Handre Pollard (Vodacom Bulls), 9 Cobus Reinach (DHL Stormers); 1 Ox Nche (Hollywoodbets Sharks), 2 Malcolm Marx (Kubota Spears), 3 Wilco Louw (DHL Stormers), 4 Eben Etzebeth (Hollywoodbets Sharks), 5 Ruan Nortje (Kubota Spears), 6 Siya Kolisi (captain, DHL Stormers), 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit (Toyota Verblitz), 8 Jasper Wiese (Urayasu D-Rocks)
Replacements: 16 Deon Fourie (DHL Stormers), 17 Gerhard Steenekamp (Vodacom Bulls), 18 Thomas du Toit (Hollywoodbets Sharks), 19 Lood de Jager (Wild Knights), 20 Andre Esterhuizen (Hollywoodbets Sharks), 21 Cameron Hanekom (Vodacom Bulls), 22 Morne van den Berg (10bet Lions), 23 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu (DHL Stormers)
