WeeklySA_AdminALL CLEAR: Boks skipper gets doctor’s nod ahead of momentous clash against New Zealand
By Sports Reporter
Siya Kolisi has shrugged off the importance of his own availability when compared to what’s at stake for the Springboks against the All Blacks in Cape Town on Saturday.
Kolisi, who took a blow to the face during the win against New Zealand at Ellis Park, will captain a rejigged Bok lineup on Saturday. The Bok skipper was doubtful for the match, but has been cleared after taking full part in the training sessions this week.
Kolisi’s injury is similar to the one suffered by France captain Antoine Dupont at the 2023 World Cup, with the scrumhalf wearing a scrumcap in the quarter-final against the Boks.
However, Kolisi chuckled when asked whether he would be wearing any protective gear when he takes to the field against the All Blacks. “No, no, they already know what’s wrong, so there’s no point in protecting it,” he said with a laugh.
Kolisi downplayed the importance of his fitness, when compared to what the Boks could achieve by claiming a record fourth-straight win against their arch-rivals.
The Springboks have not won the Freedom Cup since 2009, when John Smit captained a team featuring Fourie du Preez, Jean de Villiers and Bryan Habana.
“It’s huge for the team. It’s not just huge for me, it’s huge for the whole team,” Kolisi said.
“We are in a place that we’ve never been in before. As a group in the Rugby Championship, we’ve never been in this position before. We’ve always won here against Argentina, gone to Australia and lost there.
“The Freedom Cup is something that we’ve only seen in pictures or we’ve walked past it. We’ve never been able to touch it. It’s big.
“Coming back to Cape Town as well. Playing here after so many years and there’s so much to play for. We can put ourselves in a very good position for the Rugby Championship and win the Freedom Cup.
“It’s not about me. If I wasn’t ok, I wouldn’t have played. It wouldn’t have changed anything for the group. I just really wanted to play, I wanted that opportunity and the doc gave me the opportunity.
“It’s what we’ve done to get here,” Kolisi added. “It’s not about being wary of the All Blacks. We need to put our best foot forward, because we didn’t do that last week. We had to fight back. We can’t do that this weekend.
“The players they have picked for the game, they are clearly showing what they want to do. They want to run the ball. So what are we going to do as a team to make sure we start far better than last week?
Boks coach Rassie Erasmus was delighted to have Springbok skipper Siya Kolisi cleared to tackle the All Blacks in a blockbuster rematch at Cape Town Stadium this week.
The Boks will also see Canan Moodie and Jaden Hendrikse feature in the green and gold for the first time since running out against Tonga in the Rugby World Cup pool stages in France 11 months ago. Willie le Roux and Lukhanyo Am also return to face the Kiwis in Cape Town.
Erasmus recalled the quartet to the team, which shows seven changes from the Johannesburg victory – two of which are positional – to the starting XV.
“Siya is a world-class player and captain, and he adds immense value to the team with the way he leads by example and galvanises the team when the pressure is on,” the Bok coach said.
“Similarly to the call we made with Eben [Etzebeth] last week, our team policy is that if a player trains on a Monday and gets through training during the week pain free, they can be selected for the weekend, and Siya did just that.
“Honesty from the players about whether they can play and deliver fully on what we expect from them is a key part of our team culture, so we have full faith in Siya to give everything on the field.”
Thirteen players in the lineup played in the 2023 World Cup final against the All Blacks, which the Boks won 12-11. The squad features 19 world champion in total, with the only four players in the matchday 23 that did not participate in France.
The bench features the same front row that took on the All Blacks in Joburg: Malcolm Marx, Gerhard Steenekamp and Vincent Koch while loose forwards Elrigh Louw and Kwagga Smith complete the forward replacements.
However, Erasmus was not focused on potential records, should the Boks triumph, which could include winning four successive Tests against the All Blacks for only the second time in the history of the game, regaining the Freedom Cup for the first time since 2009, and changing their fortunes in Cape Town where the visitors have won four of their last five Tests.
He said the team’s only focus was on delivering a quality performance as they look to continue building momentum after their encouraging start to the competition. A victory would also see the Boks take a major step toward winning the competition for the first time since 2019.
“It would be fantastic to achieve that as a team, but if you look too far ahead it comes back to bite you,” said Erasmus.
“The focus for us all week is to try to deliver the best possible performance we can against New Zealand and to correct the wrongs of last week.
“New Zealand have not been the best team in the world for some many years for nothing. They’re a formidable team and they’ve shown in the past against us that you never write them off. We saw how they bounced back against Argentina after losing their first match of the tournament.-SA Rugny Magazine
