The Kolisi update every Bok fan wanted to hear

Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber has good reason to be optimistic that Siyamthanda Kolisi will recover in time to lead South Africa in defence of their World Cup title in France.

While Kolisi, second on the all-time list of most Tests as captain, will not feature in the Rugby Championship, his progress has been remarkable.

His latest update – on his social media channels – is justification for the faith the coach, Nienaber, and SA’s Director of Rugby Johan Erasmus has shown in him.

Kolisi suffered the injury while playing for the Sharks in a United Rugby Championship clash against Munster back in April.

The 32-year-old suffered a tear to his anterior cruciate ligaments, as well as injuring his meniscus on both sides of his knee.

Kolisi underwent surgery at the end of April and Nienaber has repeatedly stated that Kolisi remains the captain of the Springboks.

Stand-in captains will cover for him during the Rugby Championship and pre-World Cup warm-up matches.

The 2019 World Cup-winning skipper has just finished the ninth week of his post-surgery rehabilitation and posted a video of himself on Instagram doing some serious exercises.

The Springboks kick off their 2023 season against Australia in Pretoria on Saturday, July 8, in the opening round of the shortened Rugby Championship.

They then face New Zealand in Auckland on July 15 and return to South Africa for the final round of the Rugby Championship – where they face Argentina at Ellis Park on July 29 in their final match on home soil before the warm-match matches ahead of their World Cup defence starts.

The Boks will travel to Argentina to take on the Pumas at Velez Sarsfield, Buenos Aires, on August 5, followed by two more warm-up matches – Wales (August 19, Cardiff) and New Zealand (August 25, London).

Chances are Kolisi could come out of ‘cotton wool’ for the Twickenham fixture – mush like he did in a pre-World Cup match against Japan in 2019.