Siya Kolisi sheds light on his Bok future
SPOTLIGHT: Captain Siya Kolisi wants to continue playing for the Springboks for as long as he can.
After leading the Boks to another World Cup title in France, the 32-year-old will start a new chapter in his career when he heads back to Europe to play for French club Racing 92.
Leading up to last weekend’s Final against the All Blacks, Kolisi remained mum on his Bok future. However, at the Boks’ arrival press conference at OR Tambo International Airport, he made it clear that he wanted the journey to continue.
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“Nothing will change. I am still going to be up for selection,” Kolisi told reporters.
“I really want to play. About the captaincy, I don’t know what is going to happen. I am not the coach.
“What matters to me the most is as long as I can put on the Springbok jersey, it doesn’t matter if I’m the captain. It’s not the most important thing.
“If I say to you that I dreamt of being the Springbok captain, I would be lying to you. As long as I am available for selection again and I get selected, that’s all I care about.
“I am looking forward to the new journey and hopefully it goes well, but now we just want to enjoy being home and enjoy being double world champions.”
If there is going to be a new Bok captain next year, Kolisi knows that there will be a strong support group around that player.
“To be honest, I haven’t thought about that [captaincy],” Kolisi added.
“The most important and most urgent [thing] has been the World Cup. Being the Springbok captain is huge, especially for the country.
“I’ve only got a small role to play within the team. I’ve got Eben [Etzebeth] and Duane [Vermeulen] and we are all leaders in the group. We are all in charge of a part of the game.
“I think whoever is the Springbok captain is always going to have the most support and they will fit in like a glove.
“As long as I get to put on the Springbok jersey, I’m happy.”
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