Kolisi loving the hard road

 

The Springbok flank had a disappointing season last year which saw his form drop off before he was struck down by a double knee injury, so his focus this year has been on getting back up to speed.

 

He acknowledges the fact that his performances last year were not up to the standard that saw him make his Test debut in 2013, and said that the time on the sidelines gave him a chance to reassess and focus his mind.

 

"It is always tough to have a tough year, but I got time to sort my life out outside rugby, which worked out perfectly. So now I am motivated even more to try and get to my best again.

 

"It is not negative to have a dip of a year, obviously we don't see that when it is happening, but now I have got time and more motivation and it is even better with how much competition we have in the team which gives us motivation to work harder," he said.

 

The loose forward depth in the Stormers side means that he is under pressure just to keep his place in the team every week, which means that he cannot afford to be distracted by the thought of challenging for higher honours again.

 

"I am not even at my best yet, I have got to fight to stay in the Stormers team. I obviously want to start and be the best I can for the Stormers and then the rest will take care of itself.

 

"I have started off slowly and I am just working on the simple things so I can get back into shape.

 

"With the loose forwards that we have you are always under pressure to perform. We have got a huge group of loose forwards and everyone is capable of starting so we are pushing each other," he explained.

 

Kolisi began his career as a hard-running blindside flank, and then moved across to openside where Springbok coach Heyneke Meyer feels he is best suited.

 

He has been back in the No.7 jersey this year, but says that he is still happy to perform either role.

 

"I honestly don't mind at all, if the coaches want me to play at seven then I will. I have got to do the best for whichever team I am playing in and at the end of the day if I am doing well here at seven I can always shift to six, I don't think it is too much of an adjustment it is just more fetching and slowing the ball down.

 

"For me at the moment it is about workrate, I have got to be everywhere on the field and match-fit, that is the most important thing. The fitter I am the more I am able to contribute for the team," he said.

 

One player in the Stormers squad that knows about playing on both sides of the scrum is Schalk Burger, and Kolisi admitted that he takes plenty of inspiration from the Springbok veteran.

 

"You will be surprised by how much energy he [Burger] has, he always brings a lot of energy and the message that he always sends to us is that we must always enjoy ourselves.

 

"We are young and we want to do our best the whole time, we actually forget how much we love doing what we do. It is just rues and the gameplan which you want to stick to and you forget to enjoy it.

 

"That is one of the things that is so good at, he enjoys himself and it doesn't matter how hard the game is or how much pressure and what the hype is about, he always enjoys himself," he said.

 

Given his ability to play both blindside and openside flank, Kolisi is a valuable player for Stormers coach Allister Coetzee, and he will be hoping to make the most of every minute he gets on the field this season to prove that he can challenge for a place in the Springbok team again.