Siya Kolisi has shrugged off the importance of his own availability when compared to what’s at stake for the Springboks against the All Blacks in Cape Town on Saturday. DYLAN JACK reports.
Kolisi, who took a blow to the face during the win against New Zealand at Ellis Park, will captain a rejigged Bok lineup on Saturday.
The Bok skipper was doubtful for the match, but has been cleared after taking full part in the training sessions this week.
Kolisi’s injury is similar to the one suffered by France captain Antoine Dupont at the 2023 World Cup, with the scrumhalf wearing a scrumcap in the quarter-final against the Boks.
However, Kolisi chuckled when asked whether he would be wearing any protective gear when he takes to the field against the All Blacks.
“No, no, they already know what’s wrong, so there’s no point in protecting it,” he said with a laugh.
Kolisi downplayed the importance of his fitness, when compared to what the Boks could achieve by claiming a record fourth-straight win against their arch-rivals.
The Springboks have not won the Freedom Cup since 2009, when John Smit captained a team featuring Fourie du Preez, Jean de Villiers and Bryan Habana.
“It’s huge for the team. It’s not just huge for me, it’s huge for the whole team,” Kolisi said.
“We are in a place that we’ve never been in before. As a group in the Rugby Championship, we’ve never been in this position before. We’ve always won here against Argentina, gone to Australia and lost there.
“The Freedom Cup is something that we’ve only seen in pictures or we’ve walked past it. We’ve never been able to touch it. It’s big.
“Coming back to Cape Town as well. Playing here after so many years and there’s so much to play for. We can put ourselves in a very good position for the Rugby Championship and win the Freedom Cup.
“It’s not about me. If I wasn’t ok, I wouldn’t have played. It wouldn’t have changed anything for the group. I just really wanted to play, I wanted that opportunity and the doc gave me the opportunity.
“It’s what we’ve done to get here,” Kolisi added. “It’s not about being wary of the All Blacks. We need to put our best foot forward, because we didn’t do that last week. We had to fight back. We can’t do that this weekend.
“The players they have picked for the game, they are clearly showing what they want to do. They want to run the ball. So what are we going to do as a team to make sure we start far better than last week?”
Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
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Src: sarugbymag.co.za
