In the deep Lowveld of Mpumalanga, where the air hangs thick with anticipation and the stadium pulses like a living organism, Siya Kolisi is ready to once again don the Springbok jersey – not just as a player, but as the nation’s heartbeat.
His return is more than a name on a team sheet; it’s a rallying call, a spiritual reconnection between team and country, forged in the fire of sacrifice and recovery.
“It’s always fantastic to play here,” said Kolisi with the wide smile of a man who understands the gravity of place and moment.
“The vibe at the stadium is amazing, and we know that it will be similar to last week in Gqeberha, where the crowd really got involved and inspired us.”
Mbombela Stadium is not just a venue – it is Kolisi’s crucible, the place where his Test journey began in 2013 against Scotland. Now, twelve bruising years later, the Bok captain returns to the very soil where his Springbok story was inked, eager to taste the roar of the crowd once more – a crowd he compares to the wave of voices in Gqeberha that carried the Boks to a thumping 45-0 win over Italy.
“They definitely lift us,” Kolisi said of the supporters. “We are grateful for their support.”
But the warrior’s path back hasn’t been paved in roses. Kolisi missed the opening stanza of the season due to injury, and while his body sat on the sideline, his soul stayed stitched to the squad.
“I would have loved it,” he admitted of the games he missed.
“But just being in the camp and seeing all the guys again has been good for me. The environment in the team helps a lot both on and off the field.”
That Springbok environment – part pressure cooker, part brotherhood – will be crucial as South Africa prepares to unleash a trio of Test debutants in the most fearsome of rugby’s contact zones: the front row.
Boan Venter, Neethling Fouché, and Marnus van der Merwe – greenhorns on the Test ledger, but seasoned through scrummaging duels in the trenches of training against the titanic likes of Ox Nché, Wilco Louw, and Malcolm Marx.
“I’m very proud of the guys earning their first Test caps,” said Kolisi, calm as a captain at sea in rising tides.
“As a group, we feel there is enough experience in the team for them to know we have their backs. A scrum is not only about the front row – it involves everyone in the pack doing their bit.”
Kolisi, like an old general ushering in a new platoon, knows the war is not won by individual battles but by the cohesion of the unit.
He speaks not only with the reverence of a seasoned campaigner but the empathy of a man who remembers his own first steps into the Test arena.
And standing across from them at Mbombela’s thunder dome on Saturday, will be Georgia — a team that arrives not with fanfare but with flint and fire.
The Lelos don’t play rugby; they wrestle it into submission. Known for scrums that crack like tectonic plates and mauls that grind like ancient gears, the Georgians are not to be underestimated.
“Georgia are a physical team, and they pride themselves on their set pieces,” said Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick, a man who’s studied the battlefield and marked the traps.
“I’ve been to Georgia, and I’ve seen how tough their players are. The key for us is to improve on our standards consistently.”
This is no walkover fixture. It’s a litmus test of depth, grit, and discipline – the kind of game that reveals character under the microscope of expectation.
And if the Bok machine is to purr into the latter half of 2025 with precision, it must prove that its younger cogs can spin just as smoothly as the tried-and-tested pistons.
Yet amidst the build-up to this bruising contest, the Boks’ gaze also stretches northwards, toward Rovigo, Italy – where the Junior Springboks are locked in their own war, a World Rugby U20 Championship Final against New Zealand.
And while the senior squad prepares to maul and march in Nelspruit, their hearts will be tuned to that late-night kickoff, watching their young blood chase glory.
“We follow all their games, and they are certainly making the country proud,” said Stick.
“What really stands out for me is their fighting spirit and the cohesion in the team. We support them all the way.”
Kolisi echoed the sentiment with quiet pride. “They are definitely setting a standard. It’s great to see how they are taking their opportunities. Everyone in the squad is doing what is expected of them. We’ll be watching and supporting them.”
Saturday, then, is a day of dual battlefields — one under the blazing African sun, the other under European floodlights.
But for South Africans everywhere, it’s a day of unity in green and gold, a double feature of thunder and talent, and a reminder that from grizzled veterans to fresh-faced debutants, this team — this family — marches always as one.
The Springboks vs Georgia kicks off at 17:10 on SuperSport, while the Junior Boks square off against the Baby Blacks at 20:30 in Rovigo. Expect scrums, soul, and a whole lot of Bok gees.
Teams
South Africa: Aphelele Fassi, Edwill van der Merwe, Canan Moodie, Damian de Allende, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Grant Williams, Cobus Wiese, Pieter-Steph du Toit, Siya Kolisi (captain), Ruan Nortje, Eben Etzebeth, Neethling Fouche, Marnus van der Merwe, Boan Venter. Replacements: Bongi Mbonambi, Thomas du Toit, Vincent Koch, RG Snyman, Kwagga Smith, Faf de Klerk, Handré Pollard, Damian Willemse.
Georgia: Davit Niniashvili, Aka Tabutsadze, Giorgi Kveseladze, Sandra Todua, Luka Matkava, Vasil Lobzhanidze, Ilia Spanderashvili, Beka Saginadze, Luka Ivanishvili, Lado Chachanidze, Mikheil Babunashvili, Irakli Aptsiauri, Vano Karkadze, Vano Karkadze. Replacements: Irakli Kvatadze, Giorgi Tetrashvili, Beka Gigashvili, Demur Epremidze, Sandro Mamamtavrishvili, Tornike Jalagonia, Tedo Abzhandadze, Tornike Kakhoidz.
