Kolisi on his recovery: 'My foundation was in God'
Siya Kolisi, as is human nature, had doubts that he would recover in time to be fit and available for the World Cup.
Yet, the iconic figure will lead South Africa onto the field against Wales in Cardiff 119 days after a knee injury saw him limping from the field at Kings Park in Durban back in April.
The subsequent surgery had most pundits suggesting he will miss the World Cup title defence in France.
However, they did not count on the 32-year-old devout Christian’s strong religious background.
The 75-times capped Bok paid credit to the surgeons, physios, as well as strength and conditioning coaches that had been so crucial in his four-month-long rehabilitation road.
However, his faith is the foundation he built his recovery on.
Speaking to the media on the eve of the World Cup warm-up match in Cardiff, he revealed that the ‘medical miracle’ was the result of higher powers.
“My wife [Rachel] was big [supporting me],” Kolisi told an online media briefing.
“I had a lot of doubts when the injury happened,” he said of the freak accident in a United Rugby Championship encounter with Munster back in April – when he partially tore his anterior cruciate knee ligament while attempting to step an opponent.
“She just prayed and believed I could get here,” Kolisi said of his wife, who implored her social media followers to pray for her husband.
* (Article continues below …)
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Assistant coach Mzwandile Stick jokingly asked Kolisi if he, as is common practice in the black african culture, visited a sangoma – a practitioner of ngoma, a philosophy based on a belief in ancestral spirits.
Kolisi’s response was to the point: “I don’t have a sangoma, I have a pastor. I pray, I pray.”
Kolisi emphasised the importance his faith played in his recovery.
While the surgeons, physios and strength and conditioning coaches have undoubtedly been crucial, Kolisi, a devout Christian, relied on his faith during the long road to recovery.
“I had doubts, I won’t lie.
“[However,] I had to believe in powers far stronger than me.
“It’s where I drew my confidence from each and every day, I felt no matter what happened in the process, I was okay.
“There was no way I could justify or explain how I was healing so quickly, some of the medical team were saying, it was not normal.
“They hadn’t seen this kind of healing and the things I was able to do at certain points.”
Asked about the role of religion in his recovery, the Bok captain said it is where he drew his confidence from.
“My foundation was in God,’ the devout Christian said.
“If I didn’t know something, I prayed about it.
“I also read the [Bible] verses that people sent me.
“That was my comfort zone.
“It is where I found peace.
“It is huge for me. Not just through the injury, it is every day.
“It is me not taking all the glory for myself, knowing where it comes from.”
Kolisi added that he was happy that in South Africa you can freely be yourself.
“In other countries, players have told me, they can’t openly show their religion.
“I am so happy that I can freely show who I believe in and what I believe in.”
He said what happens going forward is all in God’s will – not what Kolisi wants, but what God wants.
* (WATCH as iconic Springbok captain Siya Kolisi explains how he found strength in God to recover from knee surgery and recover in time to be ready for the World Cup…)
On a more personal note, Kolisi said was thrilled to be back on the field.
“I just want to play and give everything, and we’ll see how long I last [on the field],” Kolisi said.
“I’d like to play as hard as I can for as long as I can.
“All I can do is go and give it all that I can for as long as I can,” he added.
“That is the only way I can say ‘thank you’ for the backing and the hard work that everyone has put in for me.”
Kolisi said he does not “fear” a recurrence of his knee injury.
“You always have that small doubt, but I can’t think about that,” the Bok skipper said.
“Whatever happens tomorrow [Saturday], I have peace in my heart that I gave myself the best chance to be here.
“If it [new injury] happens, it happens. I am not walking in fear, I am walking in confidence because I feel good.”
The 32-year-old has been chomping at the bit on the sidelines, and says he will not hold anything back at the Millennium Stadium.
“The coaches have said I must give everything I can for as long as I can until they take me off.
“Whether that is in the first half or at halftime, or afterwards, we will see how long I can last.
“My role doesn’t change, I am going to play as hard as I can for as long as I can.”
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