Rassie Erasmus: Siya Kolisi to follow Duane Vermeulen’s path with new Springboks role in Argentina clash
Springboks captain Siya Kolisi and head coach Rassie Erasmus.
Springboks captain Siya Kolisi will be taking on a very different role during the Argentina clash, according to head coach Rassie Erasmus.
The 33-year-old has travelled with the squad to South America ahead of this weekend’s Rugby Championship encounter with Los Pumas, but he has not been named in the 23.
South Africa will win the title if they overcome the hosts in Santiago del Estero, but Kolisi will only be needed in case of an emergency.
Following Vermeulen example
Instead, the flanker will be in the coaches box alongside Erasmus, replicating what the Boks did with Duane Vermeulen during the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Kolisi is currently playing with a broken nose but the head coach insists that it can be mended after the conclusion of the Rugby Championship.
“Siya was brought here not to play, but as standby, if someone gets injured. But also helping to prepare the team off the field while preparing for this important game. It was always the plan that he wouldn’t play,” he said.
“Siya can play in Mbombela next week and then he can have a reset, so he will have it fixed after Mbombela.
“The one thing we also want to do is get Siya in the coaches box. We’ve Duane on the side who relays the messages to Siya and the decision-makers on the field.
“But he actually doesn’t know what is happening in the coaches box so we want to give him a feel of how we get to a decision or how we send a message down so that he understands the whole process.
“Two years ago Duane had a better understanding of how to interpret information he received and we hope to do the same with Siya this week.”
Kolisi will be in position to watch his team-mates face Argentina knowing that a victory will secure the Rugby Championship title.
Los Pumas will be out to claim another shock win, however, to keep their own hopes alive. They have already defeated the All Blacks in Wellington and hammered the Wallabies by a record margin, and will seek to upset the odds this weekend.
‘Argentinian spirit’
“They are doing things again that they did in the old days. They don’t have a competition where their franchises can play,” Erasmus said.
“Their coach [Felipe Contepomi] brings them together and they go and beat New Zealand in New Zealand and they smash Australia. That just shows you there is massive character.
“They are also people that can go to the gutters and find a way – they can’t just take the easy route. They always have to make a plan.
“And we’ve always felt it is one of the toughest places to play rugby, not because of a hostile crowd, not because of altitude.
“It’s because their players are very desperate and they have a good coach who has been all over the world and he will bring a bit of Leinster taste into it, but they will have the Argentinian spirit which is tough to stop.”
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