Siya Kolisi and his family at Twickenham. Picture: Steve Haag/Gallo Images
Springbok captain Siya Kolisi was the toast of Twickenham after leading his world champions to a record 35-7 win against arch-rivals, the All Blacks, in London on Friday night.
The Boks dominated their opponents in all facets of the game at the home of English rugby in what was their final warm-up match ahead of the World Cup in France.
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The Boks, the defending champions after winning the title in Japan four years ago, open their campaign against Scotland on September 10, while the All Blacks face the hosts in the opening game on September 8.
Kolisi, who only returned to action in recent weeks after a serious knee injury suffered in April, has led the Boks to record wins in their last two outings, against Wales and now the All Blacks. He was cheered and applauded by the huge expat crowd at Twickenham on Friday night.
Interviewed on SuperSport afterwards, Kolisi had to wait for the cheering to die down before saying: “It’s an honour to be back (from injury).
“It’s been an amazing journey for us as a group and to see so many beautiful South Africans out here I can’t tell you how proud I am. Before we got to the stadium, driving here in the bus just reminded us once again who we play the game for,” said Kolisi.
“You (the fans) are who we do it for and why we work hard every single day. No matter where we are in the world, the South Africans always turn up. We thank you, we appreciate you and we do it for you so keep backing us.”
The Boks will now head to Corsica for a training camp before flying to the French mainland next Friday to turn their attention to Scotland and the World Cup.
Watch the Kolisi video here:
Kolisi was also cheered on by his family, who now live in Paris, after setting up the new home ahead of the Bok skipper turning out for Racing 92 after the World Cup.
“So many South Africans, I’m obsessed,” said Rachel Kolisi, Siya’s wife on an Instagram post ahead of the game.
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