JOHANNESBURG – Siya Kolisi has cleared the final fitness hurdle and will captain the Springboks against the All Blacks at DHL Stadium on Saturday, adding another heavyweight chapter to Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry.
Rassie Erasmus confirmed Kolisi came through Monday’s training session without problems, paving the way for his return at No 6 and forcing Paul de Villiers, who started the opening Test at Ellis Park, out of the match-day 23.
The selection gives South Africa a record-breaking 1,012 combined Test caps, turning the Bok squad into a living rugby museum with studs on its boots and enough experience to fill several dressing rooms.
Kolisi’s return also frees Pieter-Steph du Toit from the captaincy for his 100th Test. Erasmus said du Toit had taken responsibility on Monday while Kolisi completed his medical and conditioning work.
“If a guy has to go through a medical period on a Monday and he has to be captain, and then he withdraws in the middle of a training session because his hamstring didn’t last, you know, now he must all of a sudden switch captains again,” Erasmus said.
“Whereas Pieter-Steph just took it for us on Monday, so Siya Kolisi can fully concentrate on getting to know his job and do his work.”
Du Toit’s century also influenced the decision.
“In your hundredth match, you probably don’t want to have captaincy things and 100 match and a lot of things around you. You really want to play well,” Erasmus said.
For the Boks, Kolisi represents far more than another ball-carrier in the back row.
“What Siya means for us, I think for us, for South Africa, it means a lot. It means for our team a lot,” Erasmus said.
“He’s a very good captain. He was actually a captain. But he’s our captain at the States. And, you know, those 25 minutes he played together in Argentina, he played really, really well.”
Erasmus also stressed Kolisi’s influence away from the collision zone.
“It’s also him as a person and a guy that means a lot for us on and off the field in tough and good times.”
There remains one late selection subplot. Cheslin Kolbe, who has been nursing hamstring and ankle niggles, is “looking good”, Erasmus said.
Kolbe’s hamstring issue came from an awkward breakdown incident rather than maximum-speed running. Erasmus said the winger had been cleaned out from behind while attempting to steal the ball and overextended.
“He did full out Monday and full out Tuesday without any discomfort, so he’s good to go,” Erasmus said.
The Bok coach also offered an insight into the remarkable longevity of Deon Fourie, who turns 40 next month and remains a key member of the squad.
Erasmus has known Fourie since the player was 18, when their paths crossed during the Stormers coach’s Free State days.
“We always have France by Deon Fourie there in the back of our heads and know what they can do,” Erasmus said, referring to the lessons from France’s versatile forwards.
He described Fourie’s athletic background as part of the secret sauce behind his extraordinary career.
“The guy was a gymnast, the guy was a wrestler,” Erasmus said.
“He’s unbelievable, and we feel it’s something, not only in his game, also him as a person and how he helps us make decisions and plans.”
The hooker stocks remain a work in progress, with Malcolm Marx starting, Fourie on the bench and Bongi Mbonambi nearing a return. Erasmus said Mbonambi needs meaningful match time before re-entering the selection frame.
For now, the Boks head into Cape Town with experience stacked high, leadership restored and the rivalry simmering like a pressure cooker.
The All Blacks will need more than a good game plan. They will need to survive a Bok side carrying 1,012 caps of accumulated thunder.
Springboks:
15 Damian Willemse, 14 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Ethan Hooker, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Cobus Reinach, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Ruan Nortjé, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nché.
Bench: Deon Fourie, Gerhard Steenekamp, Thomas du Toit, Lood de Jager, André Esterhuizen, Cameron Hanekom, Morné van den Berg, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu.
