Boks answered tough questions in French win, says Kolisi

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi was thrilled that his side were able to answer some extremely tough questions in their exhilarating 29-28 Rugby World Cup quarterfinal win over France in Saint-Denis over the past weekend.

The Boks were given a stern examination by the hosts and although France were arguably the better side on the night, the Boks stuck in there, stayed in touch and took their chances when offered to them, which ended with the unbelievably tight one point win.

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Kolisi highlighted the character of the team and the impressive scrambling they did, particularly early in the second half, which helped them come out on top, while he was also happy with how they managed the 10 minute period down to 14-men after a yellow card to Eben Etzebeth.

Questions asked

“I think a lot of questions were asked of us as group by the French team. The character of the boys stood out. We had a clear plan of what to do, especially at the breakdowns. We knew how hard they were going to be,” explained Kolisi.

“They were tough to stop with 15 men, imagine how hard it was with 14. We had to fight for each other during that period and I am really proud of the character and discipline we showed.

“We scrambled a lot, especially when we were short of numbers. We talk about chasing lost causes as a group. We don’t give up until they put the ball down over the try-line. We worked together as a team.

“If we hadn’t done that, we would be going home. We never give up. You can lose as a team, but as long as you don’t give up. We knew it would take something special and it did.”

Contentious calls

During the match there were a number of contentious calls made by ref Ben O’Keeffe against both teams, which led to French captain Antoine Dupont criticising the official after the game, while he was backed up by his coach Fabien Galthie.

However Kolisi said that they would have to review the match, while admitted that the line of communication with the ref was good and that they thought his calls were fair.

“From our side, all we can do is play rugby. We can’t control the decisions the ref makes. We will have to look at the game but the communications with him and the calls he made were fair. I would never discredit the referee. Obviously Antoine has his own opinion,” said Kolisi.

“It was an amazing game, it was tough, physically it flowed. The way the two teams played outshines everything else. It was an amazing atmosphere. The French team have been building for four years so we knew it would take something special for us to win this game.”