‘The way we play is built for any weather’ – Siya Kolisi’s warning to the All Blacks ahead of crucial third Test
Springboks captain Siya Kolisi and an inset of the South African fans
Siya Kolisi says that the Springboks want to thank the South African fans through their performance in Soweto.
The Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry fixture against the All Blacks is the final home game for Rassie Erasmus’ men this year, with the side heading to Baltimore for the fourth Test match of the series, which is followed by a clash against the Wallabies in Australia. In November, South Africa will then travel north for the second leg of the Nations Championship.
Springboks aim to thank fans
The Springboks captain has made no bones about the fact that the team is targeting a victory in Johannesburg on Saturday and says that they will be thanking the fans through their efforts.
“What we would like to achieve is to win,” Kolisi said on Friday before the double-header, which sees the Springboks Women and Blacks Ferns collide for the first time in South Africa.
“We obviously want to win the game, but also to just say thank you to the people of South Africa. The number of people who show up at the stadium and the vibe that’s in there – we feel it, and we see it.
“Even the people that can’t afford to come – when we’re driving on the bus and homeless people get up and when they see a bus and they scream.
“People will make an effort to give others an opportunity to watch us play; that’s also been really special.
“We spoke about it already, we know it’s the last time [at home this year] and then this is the memory the people of South Africa will remember but hopefully we can give them a good memory and we want to say thank you not just by words but through our efforts tomorrow.”
Kolisi’s warning to the All Blacks
Rain is predicted to fall on Saturday ahead of the match and possibly even during. However, Kolisi warns that come rain or sunshine, the Springboks’ game plan won’t be changing, adding that the team’s structures are built for any kind of conditions.
“The weather won’t affect our thinking,” he said.
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“Our game plan hasn’t changed. The way we prepared on Monday is still the same. If it rains or doesn’t rain, none of our moves, anything that we do, our plan is not going to change anything at all.
“We will have the same mindset that we had last week, but we just want to make sure we take our opportunities a whole lot better than we did in the previous games. But the way we play is built for any weather.”
