VIDEO: It all happens up front says Kolbe
VIDEO: Double World Cup-winning Springbok Cheslin Kolbe’s antics as a try scorer knows no limits but the speedster is the first to admit the game is often won and lost up front.
Speaking to the media during a Springbok briefing this week, the 30-year-old Kolbe talked about the threat the Wallabies will pose in Australia, a place where the Springboks have not won a whole bunch of games.
It is also the country where he made his Springbok debut back in 2018.
“They got good X-factor in their back three – guys that can make things happen out of nothing.
“But for us, we look forward to the opportunity.
“We analyse them, but our main focus is purely on ourselves, on what we want to achieve out of the game.
“And yeah, everything happens up front and whoever wins that, will have a good day on Saturday,” Kolbe told Rugby365.
The Boks’ poor record Down Under is something that has been spoken about in the camp and Kolbe pointed out that the men in Green and Gold have not won a Rugby Championship since 2019.
“It will be unbelievable to get another one.
“But for us as a team, we are just looking forward to this coming Saturday.
“As I mentioned, we also don’t have a good history here in Australia.
“It’s not the World Cup, it’s the Rugby Championship and that’s our focus now,” he said.
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Kolbe also touched on the abundance of exciting up-and-coming youngsters knocking on the door for a starting berth.
“It’s exciting for the Springboks, for South Africa.
“For us as players, we always know there’s always somebody fighting for a position.
“It’s healthy to have good competition within the group because it just brings the best out of each one of us.
“I’m not a player that looks too far ahead because you might stumble along the way.
“For me, it’s all about doing my best and contributing towards the jersey in the best way that I can and the most important thing is just to enjoy myself,” he responded.
As a player who finds himself in an attacking position as a wing, Kolbe has had to work closely with new Attack Coach Tony Brown.
Brown served as the head coach of the Sunwolves for the 2019 season and contributing to Japan’s impressive run to the quarterfinals of the 2019 World Cup.
Kolbe first moved to France in 2017 where he spent four glittering seasons at Toulouse before moving east to Toulon in 2021.
Last year, like so many Springboks before him, Kolbe signed with a club in the Land of the Rising Sun for a new adventure with Tokyo Sungoliath.
“Tony comes with a lot of fresh ideas.
“It’s a new voice to the group and as a [former] player a lot of experience, but as a coach as well.
“Being in Japan, the Japanese boys spoke highly about him and since I’ve been part of the group and the coach Tony is, he’s been really unbelievable and he just wants us to play and express ourselves.
“But as a team obviously there’s a plan, you also have a bit of freedom to bring your 1% to the team to to try and contribute and make a difference.
“He gives you that leverage to play what’s in front of you,” he responded.
