Siya Kolisi and Springboks claim award ‘underlining continental significance’
Siya Kolisi celebrates following 2023 Rugby World Cup final victory.
Two-time Rugby World Cup-winning captain Siya Kolisi and his Springboks have both claimed a continental award at the African Union Sports Council Region 5 Sports Awards in Lusaka, Zambia.
Kolisi himself was named Sportsman of the Year while the Springboks were crowned Team of the Year for the region that consists of 10 countries including Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
Add to the list
This adds to their awards of Team of the Year at both the SA Sports Awards and SA Rugby Awards with Kolisi being honoured with the people’s choice and Sports Star of the Year awards.
President of SA Rugby Mark Alexander praised the team and Kolisi, underlining that the Springboks deserved the recognition.
“This award underlines the continental significance of the Springboks’ consecutive Rugby World Cup victories and the key role Siya played in guiding the team both on and off the field,” he said.
“They deserve all the recognition for their hard work and sacrifices over several years to lift the Webb Ellis Cup in France last year and Japan in 2019, and we are delighted to see how far and wide their achievements have reached.
“The team and Kolisi have been critical in showing what unity, teamwork, and overcoming numerous barriers on and off the field can achieve in nation-building and building winning teams, and we hope this inspires teams across Africa to follow in their footsteps and achieve similar success.”
The Springboks’ first Test of the year comes at the end of June when they face Wales at Twickenham before they welcome Ireland for a two-match series before facing Portugal for the first time in history. After that comes the Rugby Championship and then the end-of-year tour.
Springboks fixtures
Saturday, 22 June: Springboks vs Wales (Twickenham, London)
Saturday, 6 July: Springboks vs Ireland (Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria)
Saturday, 13 July: Springboks vs Ireland (Hollywoodbets Kings Park, Durban)
Saturday, 20 July: Springboks vs Portugal (Toyota Stadium, Bloemfontein)
Saturday, 10 August: Australia vs Springboks (Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane)
Saturday, 17 August: Australia vs Springboks (Optus Stadium, Perth)
Saturday, 31 August: Springboks vs New Zealand (Emirates Airline Park, Johannesburg)
Saturday, 7 September: Springboks v New Zealand (DHL Stadium, Cape Town)
Saturday, 21 September: Argentina v Springboks (venue TBC)
Saturday, 28 September: Springboks v Argentina (Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit)
Sunday, 10 November: Scotland vs Springboks (Murrayfield, Edinburgh)
Saturday, 16 November: England vs Springboks (Twickenham, London)
Saturday, 23 November: Wales vs Springboks (Principality Stadium, Cardiff)
READ MORE: Siya Kolisi and Tendai Mtawarira star in Martin Brundle’s iconic grid walk at the Monaco Grand Prix
