The Springboks’ November tour could be a blessing or a curse for captain Siya Kolisi, who, together with his wife Rachel, announced on Tuesday that they were ending their marriage.
The announcement on their social media channels came a few hours after coach Rassie Erasmus had announced the 34-man Springboks’ touring party for their matches against Scotland, England and Wales.
Kolisi, in all likelihood, had a meeting with Erasmus about his marital situation before the squad was announced, and must have reassured the coach that he will be in the correct state of mind to lead in Boks in the United Kingdom next month.
Erasmus, who went through his own divorce in May this year, would also not have taken Kolisi on tour if he thought his captain wasn’t 100% ready to focus on rugby and the task at hand.
Erasmus picked a very strong touring side in an effort to get their No 1 ranking back after a narrow defeat against Argentina in the Rugby Championship saw Ireland leapfrog the Boks. As a man who doesn’t like distractions or leaving anything to chance, Erasmus would have been honest in his chat with Kolisi.
During Chasing the Sun 2, Erasmus famously said after the 2023 Rugby World Cup defeat against Ireland that “Siya Kolisi is not the most important thing in South Africa ... South Africa is the most important thing in South Africa”.
But it’s not difficult to realise why Erasmus has backed Kolisi to be fully focused on the rugby by the time they take on Scotland on November 10.
Kolisi and Erasmus’ bond stretches far beyond the coach handing the flank the captaincy in Erasmus’ first Test in charge of the Boks in 2018. It started when Kolisi moved down to Western Province after high school.
When Erasmus said that “Siya Kolisi isn’t the most important thing in South Africa”, he knew which buttons to push to get his captain’s head back in the game to go and win another World Cup.
Erasmus also gave Kolisi every chance to make the 2019 and 2023 World Cups after serious injuries saw him going into both events seriously undercooked. But Erasmus knew his qualities as a player and as a leader were needed to succeed ... and succeed they did.
Early this year, ahead of the Ireland series, the owner of Kolisi’s former French club Racing 92, Jacky Lorenzetti, criticised Kolisi for “excessive weight, losing shape” and being “transparent”.
However, Erasmus then came and said: “Siya will wear the No 6 jersey. Siya has got no injury. Siya is not fat. And, Siya is not transparent.”
After Erasmus’ backing, Kolisi then played like a man who wanted to prove a point to Lorenzetti and the world. He then followed that performance up with a top Rugby Championship campaign, resulting in the Boks lifting the trophy.
Kolisi was also single-minded in getting to the last two World Cup while he was injured, especially last year where he fought through a painful rehab after a serious ACL injury to lead the Boks in France.
But while Kolisi is a superstar and one of rugby’s biggest brands, and a man to loves to beat the odd, he is only human and nobody can predict how he will go on the November tour, and how the media circus they may face in the UK will affect him and the team.
What we do know is that his friend and coach Erasmus will be in his corner over the next month to help him deal with everything on and off the field.
IOL Sport