Siya Kolisi: Springboks out to ‘honour’ new faces but claims ‘setting records is not our focus’ ahead of Rugby Championship finale
Springboks captain Siya Kolisi is hoping his side can just put a good performance out for their Rugby Championship finale
Springboks captain Siya Kolisi insists their side are not out to break records, ahead of a potential Rugby Championship first this weekend.
South Africa currently sit top of the table heading into the final round, and have destiny fully in their own hands. A victory for the Boks over Argentina at the Allianz Stadium, Twickenham would ensure they pick up a second successive Rugby Championship title, the first time they have ever gone back-to-back in any iteration of the Southern Hemisphere competition.
Rassie Erasmus’ men will also come into this weekend’s clash in high spirits, after thrashing Argentina 67-30 in their previous outing.
‘The quality of our performance will be the most important aspect’
It could be easy for the Boks to lose focus on the game in hand and just think about the trophy celebrations, especially with the prospect of winning two on the bounce for the first time ever, but the skipper insists his side are just looking for a good 80-minute performance against a ‘desperate’ Argentina side.
“Last week was tough, and we were only able to break through after 60 minutes,” said Kolisi. “Although we cannot control the result, the magnitude of this match makes it huge, and we are looking forward to it.
“There are a few guys in our team that haven’t won the Rugby Championship before, and we want to honour them and make it a special game for them. But setting records is not our focus. It’s all about our performance and trying our best to do the job tomorrow.”
Boks assistant coach Mzwandile Stick echoed the words of his captain, detailing that his side are just looking at putting out their best performance rather than thinking about winning a title come the final whistle.
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“Breaking records is nice, and so is winning competitions, but the quality of our performance will be the most important aspect for us because we also have a tough end-of-the-year tour coming up.”
“So, our main focus is on the match against Argentina and ensuring that we deliver an 80-minute performance. Last week’s result is in the past, and we certainly learned a few things from that match after leading by only two points at halftime.
“Last week we scored, and then they would score, and we conceded penalties that kept them in the game, and if one looks carefully at Argentina, they beat New Zealand and Australia, so if we don’t learn from that and the errors we made last week, we’d be silly.
“They are a good side, they’ll be desperate, and they are a passionate rugby nation. They’ve also selected a team with world-class players, and some senior players surrounding the younger guys, so it will be important to lay a strong foundation up-front and for the backs to deliver a skilful performance.”
