Springboks laser focused on beating the All Blacks – Siya Kolisi

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi says that the team is just focused on beating the All Blacks now, and not on building a dominant streak over their biggest rivals, ahead of their Rugby Championship match at Ellis Park on Saturday (kick-off 5pm).

After thumping the All Blacks 35-7 in a pre-World Cup warm-up match at Twickenham last year, and edging them 12-11 in the World Cup final in France, the Boks will be chasing their third consecutive win against them this weekend.

That is something that the South Africans have only been able to do once since rugby turned professional in 1995, with them managing the feat in the 2009 Tri Nations, which pales in comparison to how many times the All Blacks have gone on dominant runs against them.

In the early 2000s the All Blacks went on an eight game winning run against the Boks, while from 2010 to 2017 the All Blacks went on four, five and six game winning runs in racking up a dominant 15 wins in 17 matches over that period.

Despite the Boks finally being in a position to attempt a similar strong run of results, that is not something they are thinking of, as Kolisi admits their full focus on this game and giving them a chance to reclaim the Freedom Cup, that they last won in 2009.

“We’re motivated for tomorrow (Saturday). We want to win tomorrow. That takes us closer to winning the Freedom Cup. That’s all we’re thinking about. Everything else, in the future, we will see after this,” explained Kolisi.

“Tomorrow is a big game for us. A lot of people say that they have a lot of motivation, but we also have a lot of motivation. They’ve beaten us a lot of times in Joburg. Some of us in this group played in the 57-0 defeat which we will never forget.

“So tomorrow is an important game for us and we have a lot to play for. That’s all we’ve been focusing on, tomorrow.”

Little bit extra

Kolisi was also asked about what he thinks about the assertion that he plays his best rugby for his country, and not for his franchise side, with him claiming that he tries his absolute best to do as well as he can for both, but that putting on that Springbok jersey just adds a little bit extra.

“I try to be at my best wherever I play. If I don’t play well for my union or for my club, I won’t get selected to be here. Here it’s different. I can’t explain it. When you put on the Springbok jersey, it’s a lot to play for,” said Kolisi.

“The competition for positions is from the guys that are playing with you. It’s healthy competition. We are also helping each other. Marco (van Staden) is my best coach, Kwagga (Smith) is the same. Then you add on what we play for, the people of South Africa.

“People talk about how much pressure the game is. But coach Rassie (Erasmus) said to us in 2019, we’re in a place of privilege. We have the honour of representing the whole of South Africa. What you do with your talent, you can control people’s moods on Monday.

“I know how nice it is for people on Monday to go in the office and talk about how lekker the weekend was when the Springboks won. We think about all of that. It’s just different when you put on the Springbok jersey.”