Siya Kolisi’s rise to the top
All eyes will be on Siya Kolisi as he leads the Springboks in their World Cup campaign in Japan. A poignant new biography looks at how from humble beginnings the Bok skipper rose to claim his top spot in the national squad, triumphing over injury and adversity
IT WAS the news he’d been waiting his whole life to hear. When Springbok selectors named their squad in 2012 Siya Kolisi was over the moon to be one of the “young guns” chosen to train with the Springboks ahead of their upcoming games against England in June. Even though he wouldn’t actually be making his Springbok debut it was a great vote of confidence to be included with some of the best young players of his generation, including prop Pat Cilliers, flyhalf Elton Jantjies, outside centre JJ Engelbrecht and scrumhalf Jano Vermaak.
So it was that Siya found himself training with the Springbok squad on 16 June 2012, his 21st birthday. If he’d been less busy that day he might’ve thought back to his childhood and wondered if there was anywhere on earth he’d rather spend his birthday than with the Boks.
Towards the end of the day Springbok management surprised him with a giant cake. Siya was delighted and casually remarked to the squad that it was the first
birthday cake he’d ever received. It was a sobering reminder to everyone gathered there that day of just how far he’d come.
Siyamthanda Kolisi was born on 16 June 1991, the son of Fezakele Kolisi and Phakama Qasana.
Phakama was only a schoolgirl of 16 when she had her baby, and was unable to meet the demands of caring for a child. So the decision was made that Siya would go to live with Nolulamile Kolisi, his grandmother on his father’s side, in Zwide, a township on the outskirts of Port Elizabeth.
From a young age Siya was forced to make his own way in the world. His grandmother left early for the city, his mother appeared only occasionally and his father was often away working in Cape Town, so for long stretches he was unsupervised.
“I was very poor. I had no toys,” he later
It was a sobering reminder to everyone of just how far he’d come
remembered. “I used to use a brick and pretend it was a car. But, sjoe, I would drive that brick. It was the best thing ever.” How did he first become aware of the African Bombers? Probably through his father, who was an ardent fan. Players could join the rugby club at Under-11 level and then move up through the ranks from Under-13 to Under-15 and all the way up to the senior levels. It was an impressive organisation with a proud history, and it was all run on a shoestring budget.
How did Siya begin to play with them? It’s hard to know. Perhaps one sunny afternoon when he was 10 he decided not to go straight home after school. After all, there was nobody waiting for him and there was nothing to do. Somehow he landed up at Dan Qeqe Stadium.
One thing we know for sure: when coach Eric Songwiqi saw the passion for the game in Siya’s eyes, he suggested that he should come and join the junior Bombers for their next practice. Eric didn’t need to ask twice. From the very next session, Siya was the first to arrive and the last to leave.
The big games at Dan Qeqe Stadium were occasions when he might see his father. If Fezakele was in town it was likely he’d attend a match so Siya would keep an eye out for him.
If he was there they’d sit together and comment on the action. These were rare and precious times when Siya could really bond with his father.
As a player he continued to work hard and was open to taking direction from the coach. This dedication paid off, landing him a bursary to attend Port Elizabeth’s prestigious Grey Junior School, and then later the high school, where he was able to hone his rugby skills.
By 2009, when Siya was in his matric year, his reputation as a future star had spread far and wide. Although he had his heart set on playing for Western Province he was already being courted by the Cheetahs – before he’d even turned 18 the Free State outfit had offered him a lucrative contract that was hard to turn down.
By matric his natural leadership abilities were already evident and he was a prefect. Back then it wasn’t unusual for him to be called over by a parent from the school who wanted to take a picture
(From previous page) him, just in case he became a Springbok one day. Even then a great future seemed to lie ahead for him.
Now here he was three years later training with the Bok squad.
After the camp he rejoined Western Province believing that all he had to do was be patient and put in the work, and the results would come.
He didn’t have to wait long. When the Springbok selectors announced their final squad selection for the upcoming Castle Rugby Championship [the new name for the Tri-Nations tournament, which henceforth would include Argentina] in early August he was overjoyed when his name came up, along with four other uncapped players.
It was a dream come true for Siya but things didn’t pan out in quite the way he hoped.
SIYA was disappointed when he wasn’t chosen for the first games of the Springbok tour against Argentina. On the day the Boks were competing in Round Two of the Rugby Championship against the Pumas he was on the field playing for Province in the Currie Cup.
He was determined to use the match against the Golden Lions to prove that the Bok selectors had made a mistake by omitting him, but the rugby gods had other plans. During the game he felt a sharp crack in his left hand and knew immediately that he was in trouble. An X-ray later revealed he’d broken his left thumb and it would require surgery to put right.
This meant he’d miss out on the rest of the Currie Cup season and the chance to make his Springbok debut in that year’s Rugby Championship. It was a devastating way to end the season.
Everyone expected Siya to stay at home and relax while Western Province carried on with their campaign, but he had other ideas. For some time he’d been thinking about the fact that he’d never gone through the Xhosa initiation ritual, which marks the formal transition to manhood.
He’d contemplated going into the bush for the initiation straight after school but there’d been too much at stake at that time. Then he’d moved quickly through the ranks at Western Province and into the senior team.
With the prospect of Springbok duty in his future, Siya realised he’d have even
fewer opportunities to undergo initiation in the years ahead. He discussed it with his girlfriend, Rachel Smith, and decided that this was the moment, so once he’d undergone surgery on his thumb and he was well enough, he packed his bags and headed off to the Eastern Cape to be part of the ritual.
The details of initiation are private so virtually nothing is known about what Siya went through. He later told an interviewer: “You go through so much there. You’re alone, you can’t sleep, you’re sore and there’s nothing you can do about it. You listen to the pain. And you think.”
At the end of it all, Rachel was there to greet Siya and welcome him back into society as a man. Their relationship continued to blossom during 2012, and it was obvious to everyone that they were good for each other. Rachel had grounded him and helped him grow into the kind of man he wanted to be.
She’d also gently introduced Siya to her Christian faith, and their regular church attendance had further deepened their relationship.
Another of the big events that happened around this time also had nothing to do with rugby. During his 22nd year Siya finally learned how to drive, got his licence and was rewarded with a car sponsorship from one of South Africa’s leading automotive brands.
Siya’s public profile was steadily growing. There were more fans, more publicity, more interest from sponsors and a certainty that he was one to watch.
After coming so agonisingly close to playing for the Boks, when the new seawith son kicked off Siya was determined that there was going to be no more waiting for his turn and talk of “potential”. He wanted to make it happen, and he was gratified and relieved to be named on the bench for the national team against Scotland in Nelspruit.
Although there was no guarantee he’d play, he was confident that he’d get some game time. The media proudly shared his story with the nation and wrote gushingly about Siya’s rags-to-riches journey from the streets of Zwide to the pinnacle of South African rugby.
Everywhere he went, people came up to him and congratulated him on becoming a Springbok. Rachel was thrilled for him, naturally, as were many of his old coaches and teachers from high school. But there was something nagging at Siya, and it took him a while to figure out that he wanted to connect with his father and somehow to share the moment with him.
“He’s going to be more emotional than me. I mean, I’m the first Springbok from the township where I come from,” Siya told SuperSport at the time.
Despite all the mentors, coaches, teachers and agents that he’d had over the years, it was his dad who’d first imparted the love of rugby to him, and he was determined both to honour that gift and to share his achievement with his father.
They’d lost touch over the years; life had taken them in different directions and they’d simply drifted apart. But Siya
He was determined to share his achievement with his father
never held any grudges against Fezakele. He remembered what he’d been like when he was 18 years old and wondered what kind of a father he would’ve been at that age.
So, one evening, he called up his father and they spoke about his selection to the team. Siya realised how little his dad had actually seen him play, so he spontaneously asked him if he’d like to see the game in Nelspruit. Fezakele was delighted, but also a little daunted at the prospect of flying up to Mpumalanga. He’d never travelled in an aircraft before.
On 15 June 2013, one day before his son’s 22nd birthday, Fezakele took a flight from Port Elizabeth to Johannesburg, and then a connecting flight to Nelspruit.
The emotional reunion at the ground before the game gave the event even more poignancy and importance than it otherwise would’ve had.
Siya was nervous and distracted in the opening minutes of the game. Sitting on the bench, his mind was racing, and he kept looking around to see if he could spot his father. He swigged absent-mindedly at a bottle of water, then spat it out.
It was a cold night in Nelspruit but there was a passionate crowd all around them who were clearly delighted to host the Boks in their backyard. Before he even had a chance to get comfortable on the bench, Siya found himself being called into the game.
The reception from the crowd was loud and appreciative as Siya ran onto the field. It felt like they knew they were witnessing a moment in history. Eben Etzebeth ran over to tell him the whole team had his back, and captain Jean de Villiers and Bryan Habana also took a moment to congratulate Siya.
Then the game was on again and Siya got down to work. The Scots were running hard at the Springboks with inventive lines and determined forward play. They kept the ball alive through multiple phases, working it gradually down the line until a gap opened up and they darted over for a try.
Later on, Siya made a game-changing tackle when Scottish lock Jim Hamilton broke through right in front of the posts. Siya lunged forward, managing to grab onto Hamilton’s jersey, tug him back and then extend into a perfect tackle that dropped the player on the spot. But, again, the Scots kept the ball alive and sent it all the way down to the wing for a second try in the corner.
Despite the Scottish onslaught, Siya was having a great game, carrying the ball aggressively and making big hits. When Adriaan Strauss emerged from an attacking line-out close to the Scots’ try line, Siya latched in with him into a rolling maul that built and built before crashing over the line for a brilliant try.
A quick try by Scotland in the beginning of the second half took them to a 17-6 lead. But ultimately the Springboks wore the Scots down, scoring twice in the last quarter of the match.
The final score was 30-17 to South Africa and Siya had notched up his first win in a senior Springbok jersey. To make the night even sweeter, Siya was named man of the match. He was clearly proud of himself, but no one was prouder than Fezakele Kolisi as he watched his son perform with such courage and skill in front of the whole world.