Never in his wildest dreams as a young boy did Siya Kolisi think he would run out in his 50th Test as the Springbok captain.
But tomorrow the Boks’ inspirational leader is set to achieve that milestone in a crunch clash against Tonga (9pm kickoff) in Marseille that the reigning world champions have to win to stay in the hunt for the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals.
While a victory will most likely be enough to see them through, the Springboks will not want to leave any gaps open for the unthinkable ‒ missing the play-offs ‒ to happen, so they’ll have to achieve a comprehensive win with four tries over the South Pacific Islanders.
Kolisi said yesterday that he was honoured to lead the team on the field for the 50th time.
“Where I come from, I didn’t have dreams like that,” the Bok No 6 said.
“It’s honestly something I never dreamed of, that I never thought would happen. I started playing rugby because I enjoyed it – it kept me out of trouble, and my friends played the sport. But I certainly didn’t think I’d be sitting here now.
“It was not an easy road because I was always the joker, and the naughty guy in a team. At the Boks, it was difficult at first, but there is no greater honour (than being the Bok captain).
“Being the first black captain made it tough too, but I would never have made it to this point if it was not for my teammates, as well as coach Rassie (Erasmus, director of rugby) and coach Jacques (Nienaber).
“They put structures in place around me to assist me, and thanks to them, it made my job easier.”
The Boks will not have an easy day tomorrow and will have to be physically up to the challenge Tonga will provide.
If South Africa pull off the victory in their final Pool B clash at the Stade Velodrome, they will have a week’s break to recover ahead of a potential quarter-final against France.
Nienaber said they had tried to create the same feeling of family that they had in 2019 when the team won the tournament.
Kolisi and a host of players will have their family present for the final group match.
“If you walk out of this hotel, you will see that there are a lot of families and kids here,” Nienaber said.
“We try and create as big a family environment as we can, without it affecting the preparation. We did the same in 2019, we did the same with the British and Irish Lions series – our families went into the bubbles with us.”
The Independent on Saturday