Siya Kolisi – Simply the best

Kolisi, in the biggest moments, for the Springboks and Sharks, has stood the tallest. He plays until the tank is empty, be that 43 minutes, 56 minutes, 72 minutes or the full 80.

He always finds that something extra when wearing the green and gold, but he has been as inspiring since his return to South Africa with the Sharks.

Kolisi, who went past 300 professional matches in January, has played most of his rugby for the Springboks, Stormers and Western Province. The latter two combined for 152 matches and Kolisi should reach the elite Bok centurion club in 2025.

Kolisi, superb in his Test debut against Scotland more than a decade ago, played a secondary role in the 2015 World Cup, one that was subsequently questioned when he led the Boks to World Cup glory in Japan in 2019 and in France in 2023.

The context to 2015 is that Duane Vermeulen started at No 8 and specialist fetcher Francois Louw and iconic loose forward Schalk Burger made up the starting loose trio against the All Blacks in the 20-18 semi-final defeat at Twickenham. The Bone Collector, Willem Alberts, was the preferred loose forward on the bench.

It is very difficult to argue those selections versus Kolisi, whose international career was in its infancy.

It really has only been since Rassie Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber returned to South Africa from Munster, Ireland, in 2018 that we have seen the very best of Kolisi the player and Kolisi the leader.

Erasmus entrusted Kolisi with the leadership of the Boks in 2018 and Nienaber, as Bok coach between 2020 and 2023, was as enthusiastic in endorsing Kolisi as the Bok captain. Erasmus, in 2024, took over from Nienaber as Bok coach and showed faith in Kolisi to start and to captain the side.

Erasmus and Nienaber had worked with a teenage Kolisi at WP and the Stormers and Kolisi has always acknowledged how the two created an environment for him to succeed as the Bok captain and not one in which he had to prove himself as Bok captain. Experienced top internationals were given leadership roles to assist Kolisi and the latter’s lack of ego complemented this collective.

Kolisi’s growth as a leader has easily been given the necessary acknowledgement, as has his presence and impact as a global ambassador to the Springboks, the game of rugby and South Africa as a country.

I find too many still not able to remove those components and say he is simply a bloody good rugby player, among the best and comfortably a first choice among the very many talented Bok back rowers.

It is Kolisi’s rugby that has enthralled me the most. He is a wonderful speaker and a charismatic leader, but what I see first is a player among the best in the world in his position, comfortable in playing No 6, 7 or 8, and always coming first in the big collisions, big moments and big challenges.

South African rugby has been blessed with a player of Kolisi’s quality and he is a player who has matured into an exceptional captain. But it is the player who I am applauding, not the ambassador of the Springboks. Kolisi, particularly for the Springboks, has had no equal in his position since 2018, and he has shown a similar pedigree since returning to the Sharks.

Kolisi, like so many of the double World Cup-winning veterans, has been promised no free ticket to the 2027 World Cup in Australia, but Erasmus has been clear that their ages, 36 and 37, won’t influence their selection if their form warrants inclusion in the squad.

Kolisi, like those seasoned grizzlies, has gone on record to say the goal is to get to Australia in 2027, and the only way to get there is to keep on performing, at Test and club levels.

Many have contributed to the final package that is Kolisi, but it is the player, through his courage, commitment and fearless play, who has done the most in turning the bronze of the 2015 World Cup campaign into two successive World Cup golds, as captain of the Springboks.