Siya Kolisi hails ‘special human being’ Tom Curry and what Springboks learned from World Cup semi-final
Springboks captain Siya Kolisi speaks ahead of England fixture.
Springboks captain Siya Kolisi is looking forward to locking horns with old adversary Tom Curry when they face England in the Nations Championship at Ellis Park.
The two flankers are no strangers to playing on the big stage and both start on the openside for their respective team on Saturday, with Kolisi hugely respectful of Curry.
“He’s one of the toughest guys I’ve ever played against,” he praised.
“I remember since 2018, and then in the 2019 World Cup Final too. He is a special human being, and I love playing against him. Tomorrow’s going to be no different.”
Curry-Mbonambi spat
One journalist did quiz Kolisi on the incident in 2023 involving Curry and Boks hooker Bongi Mbonambi whereby the English player accused the South African of racism.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” a confused Kolisi responded before admitting he “forgot about” the fallout from that Rugby World Cup semi-final in France.
“Many things have gone by and it’s a new game. For us, if you’re going to be thinking about that then your mind wouldn’t be on the game, you know,” Kolisi explained.
With home ground advantage and their placing in the world rankings favouring the Boks, Kolisi shot down suggestions that his side were the outright favourites to win.
“We listen to our coaches, and we know what it feels like to be beaten,” said the skipper.
“We never walk into any match feeling like we’re definitely going to win. If we did, we wouldn’t have prepared the way we prepared this week. We’ve seen what England have done in Tests before, and we know the form they’re in, so we are in a strong mindset as a team.
“Playing against them is always a big deal. They always pitch up, and we’re excited because we know how big it’s going to be for them and for us as well.”
When asked about the pressure on the Springboks going into the match, Kolisi said: “There’s always pressure. You’d be silly to feel comfortable. But I think that’s what keeps us going.”
England praise
England may have come off a disappointing 2026 Six Nations campaign, but Kolisi stressed that would not cloud their judgement about them as a top-quality outfit.
“We’ve analysed them, and results-wise, I don’t think we can take too much from their Six Nations campaign because if you look at their last game against France, they almost won it in the final seconds, and France is one of the best teams in the world,” he said.
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“They are going to be psyched up for this match and will pitch up physically. They almost took us out of the (2023) World Cup in the semi-final, and something we learned from that game is that if you don’t execute your plan very well against England, they have the potential to punish you.
“They are physically aggressive, even under the high balls. So, whatever they’ve done in the past won’t matter. What will make the difference is if we pitch up. We know they’re in a good mental space, and several players are in form for their clubs, so they’ll bring good energy. If we don’t pitch up and execute in the set-pieces and in our kicking game, we’re going to be in trouble.”
