‘Mystical’ Springboks skipper Siya Kolisi draws Dan Carter and Ayrton Senna comparisons

Racing 92 owner Jacky Lorenzetti expects Springboks captain Siya Kolisi to have a significant impact at the club.

The 32-year-old is one of the French outfit’s big-name additions for the 2023/24 campaign and will look to play a key role in the Parisians’ hunt for silverware, having now arrived in the French capital.

They have regularly been in contention in the Top 14, not finishing outside the top-six since they were promoted back in 2009.

Lack of silverware

It is a remarkable record but one which has only yielded a single league title – in 2016 – during that period.

In fact, Racing have never finished at the top of the table and have just two second-placed finishes, which means they have mainly ended the round-robin phase between third and sixth.

That makes it more difficult for them when it comes to the end-of-season shake-up, with the top two teams gaining direct qualification for the semi-finals.

Lorenzetti will no doubt hope that run will alter with Kolisi in the side, a player that has captained the last couple of Rugby World Cup-winning Springbok teams.

His ability to inspire and lead could therefore have a “unifying” effect at Racing, according to the club’s owner.

“Siya, he radiates. He’s someone quite extraordinary. He gives me the impression of being a tractor that will pull the whole team behind him,” he told Midi Olympique.

“Kolisi reminds me of Dan Carter but in a different style, certainly with a little more flesh, a little more human.

“They say he has political ambitions after rugby, and that doesn’t surprise me from what I know about the guy.

“He is more unifying than anyone and even created an association a few years ago to help children in the townships in South Africa.

“In my youth, I did a bit of motorsport, and I loved a driver named Ayrton Senna; he was a driving genius, but he also had a mystical dimension that I found in Siya Kolisi.”

New start for Kolisi

Racing will be Kolisi’s first overseas club, having spent eight years at the Stormers and a further two at the Sharks.

“It has been an incredible collaborative effort between the Sharks and Racing 92 that has enabled me to start a new chapter in my career after the 2023 World Cup,” the Springboks flanker said.

“I want to give a massive thanks to the Sharks for welcoming me with open arms in 2021, and for making me feel so at home in Durban, while their support over the last couple of years has been hugely influential during a key period in my career.

“I am immensely appreciative that the Sharks have given me their blessing to make this move, and it goes without saying that I will continue to give my all for the team over the next few months.”

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