Siya Kolisi’s honest Sharks admission as Springboks captain issues ‘tough’ farewell message
Sharks star Siya Kolisi (INPHO/Steve Haag Sports/Steve Haag/EPCR).
Siya Kolisi has offered ‘no excuses’ for the Sharks’ failure to qualify for the United Rugby Championship knockout stages as he enters his final fortnight at the Durban franchise.
It’s been a turbulent season for the Durbanites, who endured a poor start to the 2025/26 campaign, which eventually led to the parting of ways with head coach John Plumtree.
Former Springboks winger and club legend JP Pietersen took over the reins in the interim, with the Sharks enjoying a new manager bounce, which led to back-to-back victories over coastal rivals, the Stormers, and a festive win over the Bulls.
However, they failed to progress into the round of 16 phase of the Investec Champions Cup, lost their Challenge Cup knockout against Connacht, and whilst dealing with an injury crisis, saw their chances of reaching the URC play-offs slip with losses at Ospreys and Edinburgh.
No excuses for Sharks falling short
The final two rounds of the season see the Sharks take on Italian clubs Benetton and Zebre, with the three teams having nothing but pride to play for. It also marks the final two opportunities that Springboks captain Kolisi has to pull on the Sharks jersey before he returns to Cape Town next season to rejoin the Stormers.
“It’s been a tough week for us with not making the Top Eight,” the back-rower admits.
“We are really disappointed, especially with the group that we have. We definitely should have qualified for that. We have no excuses.
“We want to make sure that we finish strong for the season. It hurts us the way the fans have been supporting us so much and we couldn’t deliver for them, for the club itself.”
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We should be doing better
The Sharks have come under heavy scrutiny in recent seasons, with the Springboks-laden squad not fulfilling its potential, and while changes are afoot for the 2026/27 campaign, Kolisi says that the squad is focused on finishing the current season on a high.
But standing in their way is a Benetton outfit that produced the shock of round 16 of the URC, beating a stacked Leinster team 29-26, a result that saw the Irish giants surrender top spot on the standings.
“We should be doing better than we did this season, but yeah, we’ve got a big challenge this week with Benetton,” Kolisi continued.
“They are a great team and have beaten some big teams this season, so we want to finish our year strong, and hopefully the guys can build going forward with these last two games.”
A tough two weeks awaits Springboks captain
On a personal note, the Bok skipper says that it will be difficult to say goodbye to Durban ahead of his return to Cape Town. Kolisi first joined the Sharks in 2021 before signing a deal with Top 14 club Racing 92, but that stint lasted just one season as he returned to KwaZulu-Natal in 2024.
His decision to move back to Cape Town is in order to be closer to his family and he again thanked the Sharks for facilitating and supporting his decision.
“I’m going to enjoy the last two weeks and enjoy the city and KZN as much as I can,” he said. “Thank you to the people here, thank you to the Sharks for everything they’ve done for me and for supporting me in everything, and for understanding how important family is – not just saying it, but helping me get closer to my kids.”
He added, “For me, it’s been tough. It’s going to be hard to say goodbye to the boys. It’s been a special place.
“Thank you so much to the people of KZN for welcoming my family and me. My kids love coming here; they really enjoy supporting the team, they love the city itself, and they love the people here.”
