Rassie Erasmus: Springboks captaincy call was Siya Kolisi’s ‘suggestion’
Springboks flanker Siya Kolisi and an inset of head coach Rassie Erasmus.
Rassie Erasmus has further disclosed how Jesse Kriel was named Springboks captain over Siya Kolisi for the Rugby Championship clash against New Zealand.
Kolisi was touch-and-go for the Eden Park showdown after sustaining an injury in the first Test against the Wallabies in Johannesburg.
The Springboks head coach confirmed that the double World Cup-winning captain was set to miss the Test in Auckland against New Zealand, but after proving his fitness in the week and another untimely injury striking in the back-row, the door opened for Kolisi’s inclusion in the run-on team.
Siya’s suggestion
However, that has not been accompanied with the captaincy armband, which has been handed to Kriel, who leads the side for just the third time in his career.
After naming his matchday 23 to tackle the All Blacks, Erasmus revealed that Jean-Luc du Preez was set to be included in the starting line-up in the number eight jersey, but the luckless back-rower suffered a knee injury in training on Wednesday.
Kolisi was then drafted into the team, and the inspirational skipper told the head coach that the captaincy plan should not change.
“Siya and I had a chat, and he said to me, ‘Hey, no’,” Erasmus told SuperSport.
“JL [Jean-Luc du Preez] was going to play, and Siya had to get through Monday’s training, and we wanted to name the team internally on Sunday already.
“And then Siya had to get through Monday well, and we needed to see what his stiffness was like on Tuesday, and we said, ‘he is actually ready to play’, but the team has already been announced, and Jesse is captain.
“Next week, we will have Siya and Jasper Wiese back in the mix, and hopefully, Pieter-Steph gets through this match fine. When JL injured his knee, it would be tough to say, ‘Siya, you are now captain again and not Jesse’ after everything that we built up in the week.
“So, it was Siya’s suggestion and all good, the whole team understands, but Siya is our captain for the rest of the year.”
Ardie Savea on Kolisi
Saturday’s match will see Kolisi earn his 95th Test match for his country, leaving him only five matches short of becoming the ninth Springbok centurion in the history of the game.
Meanwhile, Ardie Savea is relishing the opportunity to go toe-to-toe with Kolisi in what will be his 100th Test match for the All Blacks. The duo may be fierce rivals on the pitch, but are mates off it.
“First and foremost, we’re just human beings,” said Savea when asked about their relationship. “We’re men, we’re husbands and fathers. Siya’s the same as me. We’re just brothers off the field.
“But again, we represent two different countries that want to get the result, so that’s the special friendship. I think it’s like that with a lot of international teams and players. We go out there and try and beat each other up and try and do what’s best for our team, and then we just share a conversation just like normal human beings, and we put that aside and just connect.”
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