Dan Biggar reveals classy Siya Kolisi message after backlash
South Africa captain Siya Kolisi and Makazole Mapimpi of South Africa tackle Wales captain Dan Biggar during the 2022 Castle Lager Incoming Series match between South Africa and Wales held at Cape Town Stadium in Cape Town.
Wales fly-half Dan Biggar has revealed that Springboks captain Siya Kolisi reached out to him after a backlash for his actions in the Rugby World Cup match against Fiji.
Biggar steered his side to a 32-26 victory over Fiji in their opening Pool C game of the tournament last weekend.
Biggar’s outburst
However, the fly-half was the subject of a backlash after his outburst on team-mate George North on the stroke of half-time.
He was overheard on the referee’s microphone swearing at North to ‘get the f**king ball off’ after his team-mate tried to run it from inside their own 22.
In his Daily Mail column after the game, Biggar explained the reasonings behind his outburst.
“I woke up to plenty of messages about the mouthful I gave to my good mates George North and Nick Tompkins at the end of the first half,” he wrote.
“It was a build-up of frustration because we had gifted Fiji some pretty easy territory. Our plan was that when the ball gets turned over in transition, then we need to shift it.
“On a couple of occasions we did not do that, and we got turned over so the boys were obviously trying to correct that, but it was the wrong time and the wrong place.”
Classy Kolisi
In another column, he has revealed that one of those messages referenced was from South Africa’s captain, Kolisi.
“I woke up to a voice note from Cheslin Kolbe saying Siya Kolisi had asked for my contact details,” Biggar revealed in his Sports Mail column.
“Later on, I opened up a WhatsApp from an unknown number. It was Siya.
“His message said: ‘Hey bro, hope you’re well. Just wanted to say well done to you and your boys. Loved your passion for the game. All the best for the rest of the tournament.’
“To get that message from someone like him made me feel a million dollars. I listen to that more than some of the ex-players trying to keep themselves relevant!”
Biggar’s final line was in reference to the likes of Josh Navidi, James Hook and Nicky Robinson, who all criticised his actions.
The fly-half was rested for Wales’ second tournament match against Portugal but is expected to return to the starting XV for the clash against Australia on September 24.
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