Defeat to fuel the Springboks and Siya against All Blacks
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Springbok captain Siya Kolisi revealed that it was a case of mind over matter as he recovered from injury to lead South Africa against New Zealand at DHL Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday.
Kolisi has been hampered by multiple injuries, with his latest hamstring injury forcing him to miss the Springboks’ 16-33 defeat to the All Blacks in the first Test of the Greatest Rivalry at Ellis Park.
Now back in the starting XV, the 35-year-old captain and the Boks will be hoping he can deliver a massive performance as South Africa look to level the series.
“I think people always think it’s the injury itself that is tough to overcome, but you always know you’re going to heal,” Kolisi told reporters at the Springbok hotel in Cape Town.
“But I think it’s more the mental one [recovery].
“You don’t know which game you’re going to be back in the side. But I have good support around me, you know, with the coaching staff, I think my teammates too, and obviously our medical team has been really good.
“However, I’m really happy to be back and being able to play in this game.”
This season, Kolisi has suffered two different hamstring injuries, one to each leg. The first ruled him out of the three Nations Championship games in July, while the second, suffered on his return against Argentina, ruled him out of the first All Blacks Test.
The setbacks have inevitably raised questions about the future of the veteran flanker’s career.
“I’m still young, brother,” Kolisi told reporters when asked if this might be one of his last games for the Springboks.
“I honestly don’t think about that at all. Especially with the captaincy thing. I just want to be in the team and play. As long as God still allows me and I can get up and recover from injury, I will play.”
Kolisi added that if his playing career did eventually come to an end, he would not be worried, insisting that the talent coming through the ranks would be capable of filling the massive void he would leave behind.
“If it is the last game, then that’s what it is, you see the talent coming through. A guy like Paul [de Villiers], the way that he has played when he’s had the opportunity [is brilliant].
“We as players are happy when guys are coming through and playing well when they get their opportunity, because it is putting the team in a better place.”
Turning his attention to the Springboks’ must-win fixture against the All Blacks, the skipper said his team are no strangers to having their backs against the wall.
He pointed to their Rugby World Cup triumphs in 2019 and 2023, as well as the British & Irish Lions series in 2021, as evidence of the team’s fighting spirit.
“We’ve all been in this position before, not just me, and we know how to handle the situation, off the field as well.
“What’s most important is actually on the field itself. We need to go and play and execute like coach [Rassie Erasmus] said. When we watched the game after the first Test, we watched it as rugby players with the coaching staff.
“It was a big scoreline, but we looked at what we missed, all the opportunities. If we had converted those, maybe things would have been different. We’re lucky to have the experience [of playing in tough matches], but experience means nothing if you don’t learn from the mistakes that you made the week before.
“If we create as many opportunities as we did last week, we must seize more than what we don’t. That is the biggest factor for me from last week. The All Blacks didn’t have many, but they took them when it was there.
“And I think that’s the important thing. The amount of dominance we had in the first half, and we had nothing to really show for it. [Fixing that] is the most important thing.
“It’s a new game.”
