VIDEO: 'Scared' Kolisi ready to take on Wales
NEWS: Springbok captain Siya Kolisi was really scared after he got injured in April this year, but is set to make his return to the playing field against Wales on August 19 at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.
Kolisi opened up about the injury when he suffered a partial tear of his anterior cruciate ligament while playing for the Sharks against Munster in the United Rugby Championship.
“I was scared for this one. But I felt good. I had a proper surgeon who gave me confidence and that’s important,” Kolisi told the media after the World Cup squad was announced.
“The people you have around you are important. He was confident and my medical team at the Springboks and at the Sharks were all confident that I will be okay.
(WATCH Kolisi speak about his injury and recovery …)
“I was just blessed with how quickly I heal. The harder I worked, the more I started feeling good.
“I was really scared. If it wasn’t for my wife and my family, and the support around me…And the guys that have been through the same thing like RG [Snyman] and Handre [Pollard] who helped me a lot.
“Every time I felt something weird, I would go to them and they would tell me where they were at the stage I was in and it gave me a lot of confidence,” the captain revealed.
“I feel really good. I have worked hard. When the team was away, I was the Sharks doing training sessions and I felt good.
“So all I need now is to train with the boys.
“But also, it reminds you how quickly it can be taken away. That was the tough part. And you don’t know when it is going to happen.
“And that is why I feel for the guys that are injured right now. Because I know they would do anything to be here,” the Springbok captain said.
Kolisi is not only on his way to his third World Cup, but is also geared for a possible fourth World Cup title as well as back-to-back wins.
“We know what the country expects from us. We want the same thing. And we do love that kind of pressure. We worked to get there.
“There was a time when no one wanted to see us play. And we embrace that. We want to do something special, something that has only been done by New Zealand, to win back-to-back.
“But also be the first team to win the World Cup four times. That’s the kind of pressure we put on ourselves. When a lot of pressure comes, we just focus internally.”
Nienaber confirmed that Kolisi is ready to play as they decided to pick 33 fit players who carry no injuries.
“Every single guy we selected will be able to play a Test match this Saturday.
“So we went for a full fit squad and we’ve been part of World Cup teams before where that wasn’t always the case when you carried some injured guys that can’t train on a Monday,” the coach said.
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