Springboks to do it for the fans — Siya Kolisi

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi says the players’ motivation is to do it for the fans when they teak on England in their Rugby World Cup semifinal at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis on Saturday night (9pm).

Kolisi explained that the players were lifted up by the messages and videos of support from back home and that they wanted to keep winning to bring joy to the people of South Africa.

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The Boks will be favourites for the England match on Saturday, being the number one ranked side in the world and having beaten them comfortably at Twickenham last year, but England will be out for revenge after the Boks hammered them in the 2019 World Cup final.

“That is the one thing that will never change, who we play for and who we represent. I wish you could see all the support back at home. This is what people talk about. The kids at schools are sending us clips of them singing because they know some of us like singing,” said Kolisi ahead of the match.

“People at work on Fridays are wearing their green jerseys. The beautiful thing to see is people wear anything that is green or something that represents the Springboks.

“We see that and that will continuously be our motivation. We know what the team has meant in the past, not just for sport but for our country in general and we use that to inspire us and keep us going.”

Stay grounded

Kolisi admitted that it was good for the team to stay grounded in a massive semifinal week and that many of the players are lucky to have their families with them, which helps them during the competition.

“The best thing for us is the coaches allow our families to be with us, so when you’ve had a tough day, maybe training hasn’t gone well for you, you get back to the room and your kids run up to you, that really helps,” said Kolisi.

“Or after a game, you come back to the hotel and there are 15 kids running around. So you have that ‘home’ feeling’. We are lucky to be able to create that environment among our group. As soon as you finish training, you can switch off because you become a dad or husband again.

“I am like an uncle to other people’s kids.  So even though we are with the Springboks, it is like a club team. You go back to your family and they go through the highs and lows with you.”