The Springboks and All Blacks will be going all out to take a 2-1 series lead into the final Test in the US next weekend.
Springbok captain Siya Kolisi says the team will invoke the history of Soweto to power them as they chase a win over the All Blacks at the FNB Stadium. Picture: Anton Geyser/Gallo Images
Springbok captain Siya Kolisi has invoked the history of Soweto to power the Boks as they target a first win over the All Blacks at the FNB Stadium in the third Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Test on Saturday (kick-off 5:10pm).
The Boks and All Blacks are locked one-all in the four-Test series and both will be desperate to take a 2-1 lead into the final Test in Baltimore, USA, next weekend.
Having lost twice to the All Blacks at the ground, in 2010 and 2012, the Boks will need to up their game and put in a monstrous performance in front of around 90,000 people, to get the result they are after.
Asked about how special it was playing the game in Soweto and at the stadium that hosted the 2010 soccer World Cup final, Kolisi spoke about the deep history of the area, that included the Soweto uprising, and various sporting events over the years.
Big part of history
“We drive in and see the people. Soweto is a big part of our history in South Africa. So many things that have happened there, that helped shape the South Africa we have today. So many heroes come from there. And I know a lot of the football history is from there,” said Kolisi at Friday’s captain’s press conference.
“Our heroes, the people that we looked up to when we were young and people who won Afcon (Africa Cup of Nations soccer) in 1996. You know, those are the memories that we have and the people that have come from there.
“We know how special it is, and I’m grateful that we can play at a place like this in a big game. Hopefully we can turn things around (here). We know the last time we played against New Zealand (in Soweto) it wasn’t successful. So that’s another thing to play towards.”
Kolisi continued: “So we won’t act as if it is not a special ground to play at. We are thankful for the people that came from here and fought for me and coach Mzwandile (Stick) to be sitting here today.
“So it’s a way for us to say thank you, because we know there are so many that fought for the freedom that we have today, who never got to experience it.
“Us giving our best is part of us saying thank you. Us using opportunities every day is part of us saying thank you. So hopefully we can do that with the win and change the history between the two teams.”
Series win
The winner of Saturday’s match will ensure that they can’t lose the series heading to the US, while the team that loses will only be able to fight for a draw, but Kolisi said that the Boks wanted to win the series outright.
“This game is definitely important. We are treating this (series) as (World Cup) playoffs. We lost the first Test, and we had to dig our way back and fight to win the second one. And now we want to win the series, we’re not playing to draw the series.
“We’ve got a lot to defend, not just the trophy for the tournament, but also the Freedom Cup. It’s something that we want to keep as well. So we don’t want to draw the series, we’re going there to try and win the game.”
This will also be the Boks’ final match in front of their home fans this year, as they go on to play in the US next weekend, then on to Australia, before the end-of-year Nations Championship games in the UK and Europe.
