Siya Kolisi spent the 2015 World Cup carrying tackle bags. Now everything he touches turns to gold. Long may it continue, writes Mark Keohane.
Kolisi is the most inspirational leader in world rugby and also the most humble.
He always reserves his best performances for the Springboks and, in Cape Town on Saturday against the All Blacks, he played his finest 56 minutes in a Bok jersey. There have been some mighty Bok performances from Kolisi in the past decade, so the statement that Saturday was his best tells you just how big the performance was against the All Blacks.
There were so many big performances among the Boks in beating New Zealand for a fourth successive time. Damian de Allende was the best of the backs and Malcolm Marx and Ox Nche were influential in everything they did.
Pieter-Steph du Toit and Eben Etzebeth carried strongly and were ever present, but Kolisi was something special and the only thing that softened the blow when he left the field was that it was Kwagga Smith replacing him. What a combination the two make over 80 minutes.
Bok player ratings (out of 10)
15. Willie le Roux – 4
14. Canan Moodie – 5
13. Jesse Kriel – 7
12. Damian de Allende – 8
11. Cheslin Kolbe – 7
10. Handre Pollard – 6
9. Grant Williams – 6
8. Jasper Wiese – 7
7. Pieter-Steph du Toit – 8
6. Siya Kolisi – 9
5. Ruan Nortje – 7
4. Eben Etzebeth – 8
3. Frans Malherbe – 8
2. Bongi Mbonambi – 5
1.Ox Nche – 8
Subs
16. Malcolm Marx – 8
17. Gerhard Steenkamp – 8
18. Vincent Koch – 7
19. Kwagga Smith – 7
20. Elrigh Louw – 7
21. Jaden Hendrikse – 6
22. Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu – 6
23. Lukhanyo Am – 6
Src: keo.co.za
