'We are different South Africans from different walks of life'
Siya Kolisi says he cannot imagine what the scenes will be like in South Africa if the Springboks beat England on Saturday and are crowned world champions. Kolisi, the Springboks’ first black captain, will spearhead a bid for South Africa’s third title after triumphs in 1995 and 2007.
And although the twice-world champions are underdogs in Yokohama, it is a dangerous game to write them off. “I was obviously very young in 1995, so I don’t remember anything about that, other than the videos and images I’ve seen,” Kolisi said.
“It was definitely beautiful to see that, and I got to experience that in 2007 when I watched and saw what it did for the country. It does make a huge difference, and it’s big back at home. I haven’t seen this much support since I’ve played for the team.
“The president was speaking about it in parliament, asking the whole country to wear Springbok jerseys and, if you are in a car, you must hoot at one o’clock. We know how much rugby means to the country and what it has done in the past.
“We have different races in our team and that is one of our strongest points, and that is something we want to show by the way we play – that we can achieve stuff together as long as we buy into whatever it is that we want to achieve.
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“We have the country behind us, which is something huge. We are going to do our best and we really trust our plan. We’ve seen the videos, and I can’t imagine what it would be like (in South Africa) were we to win the trophy.”
Kolisi will be watched by his father, who has made the journey to Japan for his first trip abroad. “I am really happy that I could organise for him to come,” Kolisi added. “It’s his first time overseas, so it is something different for him. He came with my best friend, and it’s one of the things I am grateful for about playing rugby – that we can do things like this for our family members.”
Kolisi was appointed Springboks skipper in May 2016, and Saturday’s final will be his 50th cap, but it has not all been plain-sailing. “It was very tough at the beginning,” he said. “When it [captaincy] got announced, it was a big thing back at home and around the world.
“It took its toll on me at the beginning, and my performance dipped quite a lot. We played England in a June series, and I wasn’t playing at my best. I think it was just a bit too much, so I had to work hard on myself.
“It’s not about me and what it would mean for me, but more about what it would mean for the team. We are different South Africans from different walks of life, but we bought into coach Rassie Erasmus’ plans and we just said ‘this is what we want to achieve’.
“We’ve given it everything, so it would be huge to show that, as a country, no matter where we come from, we can buy into one plan and we can achieve our goals.”
It's official… Saturday's showdown with England in Yokohama will be Rassie Erasmus' last outing as South Africa's head coach https://t.co/jS5gGntrQo
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) October 31, 2019
England are bidding for a first world title since 2003, and it promises to be an intriguing encounter. Kolisi added: “The past four games against England, it has been an arm-wrestle and swings of momentum. I am expecting that, and it’s all about who can handle that the most.
“But you never know, there might be beautiful tries being scored. A lot of things have happened in this World Cup, so you can expect anything. Pressure can help you lift your performance. It is all about how you channel it.
“It is not another game – it is a World Cup final. Not many players get this opportunity, and we know that as a team. It’s a special day.”
– Press Association
WATCH: South Africa’s Siya Kolisi speaks ahead of World Cup final clash with England
Comments on RugbyPass
Great work Owen Franks. A great of this team, scoring his first try for the Crusaders since 2010.He was beaming, justifiably. A fine win, he and the rest did the job up front.
1 Go to commentsDanny Care. Lang in die tand.
1 Go to commentsBig empty stadium does nothing for atmosphere but munster are playing well with solid performance
1 Go to commentsYes, Fiji can win the World Cup! With that belief plus their christian faith🙏 and hard work it is achievable. Great article. Ian Duncan Fiji resident 1981-84
2 Go to commentsInteresting comments about Touch. England’s hosting the Touch World Cup this year and the numbers have exploded since their last World Cup in 2019, something like 70% more teams and 40 nations taking part. And England Touch have made a big thing about how many universities are in their BUCS University Touch Championship as well as Sport England membership. Can only see this growing even more domestically as more people become aware of it
10 Go to comments“Cortez Ratima is light years ahead of anyone on current form, while TJ Perenara has also skyrocketed into contention following the unfortunate injury to the talented Cam Roigard.” At last some sanity. Hitherto so many pundits have been wittering on about Finlay Christie to the point one wondered if they were observing a FC in a parallel universe where the FC they saw wasnt just the mediocre Shayne Philpott project of Fosters hapless AB reign in the real world. Ratima, Perenara and Fakatava are the ONLY logical 9s for Razor now Roigard is crocked.
2 Go to commentsThis game was just as painful as the Hurricanes game. It was real fork-in-the-eye stuff.
2 Go to commentsNow if they could just fire the Crusaders ground PA guy who likes to play his dance music and just loves the sound of his own voice the entire game, even when play is going on. And I thought their brass band thing of a few years ago was bad.
5 Go to commentsUnfortunately when you lose by far the two form players this season in Roigard and Aumua, you're left replacing two game changing Tanks with a couple of pea-shooters. Which is also about the speed of TJs pass.
4 Go to commentsBit rich coming from the guy with zero loyalty to anyone or any team, including happily taking a players place in a league world cup squad because well, SBW wanted to play in it and thus an already named player got told he was no longer going. And airing stuff like this, which may or may not be true, doesn't exactly say you're a stand up guy either SBW. Just looking to keep his name in lights as usual.
38 Go to commentsTamati Tua. …the Taniwha NPC midfielder. Ollie Sapsford, Hawkes Bay NPC midfielder…doing well
4 Go to commentsFiji deserve to be in the rugby championship, fans love seeing the Fijian national team play, the Fijian Drua is a wonderful idea but the players can still be stolen to play for NZ and AUS…
2 Go to commentsThe first concern for this afternoon are wheather forecast…
1 Go to commentsWhy cant I watch Rugby games please?
1 Go to commentsBeautiful shot from Finau, end of story. Gutted for Shaun Stevenson though.
4 Go to commentsThe Chiefs definitely didn’t win ugly. They had the superior scrum, a dominant lineout, and their defence was excellent once the Waratahs scored their two tries (thanks to some lucky refereeing calls mind you). They put pressure on the Waratahs lineout throughout the game, and the mind boggles as to why the referee did not award a yellow card or a penalty try against the Waratahs for repeated scrum infringements on their own try line before Narawa’s first try. And the Chiefs were slick with their passing and running angles on attack. It was a dominant performance all round, even with many questionable refereeing decisions.
1 Go to commentsWasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
4 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
4 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
5 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
35 Go to comments