Kolisi’s Bok fire still burns brightly

Siya Kolisi has confirmed that he is not done with the Springboks yet and is still ‘up for selection’ after arriving back in South Africa as a two-time Rugby World Cup-winning captain.

Once the glitter settles on South Africa’s world cup triumph, Kolisi will return to France to begin the next chapter of his career with Parisian giants Racing 92.

Kolisi has already solidified his status in South African rugby lore by captaining a golden generation of Springboks to historic back-to-back world cup titles and a British & Irish Lions Series victory.

While at 32 years old Kolisi still has plenty of rugby ahead of him, it was thought that the 2023 Rugby World Cup would mark the end of his journey in the green and gold.

However, after arriving with the Webb Ellis Cup to a hero’s welcome from thousands of fans at a jam-packed OR Tambo International airport in Johannesburg, Kolisi dismissed fears of an international retirement.

“I will still be up for selection. Nothing will change. I want to play,” Kolisi said.

“About being captain, I don’t know. I’m not the coach. What matters to me the most is as long as I can put on the Springbok jersey, it doesn’t matter whether I’m the captain or not.

“If I say to you that I had dreamt of being the Springbok captain, I’d be lying to you. As long as I’m available for selection and I get selected, that’s all I care about.

“I am looking forward to the new journey, but for now we’re going to enjoy being world champions and going back-to-back.”

Kolisi gave his backing to whoever succeeds him as Bok captain, should he not continue in the role.

“I haven’t thought about that. The most urgent thing has been the world cup,” he said.

“Whoever is Springbok captain is always going to have the most support and they will fit in like a glove.

“As long as I get to pull on the Springbok jersey, I am happy.”