‘It is not because of his colour he is captain – he has got what it takes’
Siya Kolisi will make history with Springboks tomorrow, writes Mick Cleary in Johannesburg
There is little danger of the first black Test captain in South African rugby’s 127-year history being daunted by the occasion when he leads the team out at Ellis Park tomorrow against England. Siya Kolisi, 26, has beaten every challenge that has come his way, be it an impoverished upbringing in a Port Elizabeth township where his mother died in his teens and having to be raised by his grandmother who also passed away in his arms, to battling prejudice and fighting his way to the top despite there rarely being food on the table at home.
Nothing has fazed him, not even the prospect of jumping into a pool for a PE exercise as a 14-year-old at Grey High School, where he had just won a rugby scholarship, even though he could not swim.
“Siya sank straight to the bottom, but when he was pulled out he came up with a smile on his face saying ‘Jeez, that’s not as easy as it looks’,” recounts Dean Carelse, then the Grey first-xv coach. “Siya embraced every test, every obstacle, every experience.”
Six months later, Kolisi was playing for the school water-polo team. He was one of three boys from the Zwide township who had been spotted by Grey’s coach, Andrew Hayidakis, and given bursaries to attend one of the most prestigious schools in the country, the alma mater of England’s Mike Catt as well as South African cricketer Graeme Pollock.
“He was quite small when he first came to us as a 13-year-old, so he had to be smart on the field, boxing clever to put others into space,” said Carelse, who used to help with food provisions, toothpaste even. “But Siya always thought of others first, in life as well as in sport.”
But he knew his own mind, too, acutely aware of who he was and where he came from. Carelse used to drop him back to Zwide after training. “His township pals would tease him as he got out of the car, telling him that he was too good for them now, going to the big
‘It shows what is possible. The country is going to love this kid’
white school,” said Carelse. “Some other boys we had at Greys in similar situations used to change out of their rugby kit or school uniform before they got back to the township. But not Siya. He was proud of what he was doing and the opportunity he had been given. He has become a cult hero there, a beacon of hope. And he has done it by being himself. “
The young Kolisi grew up in hardship, his mother, Phakama, giving birth to him when she was 16. Her premature death led to his grandmother, Noluamile, taking on parenting duties. Yet those who know him well tell of his naturally sunny disposition, his openness, his humility, but also of his drive. That much was in evidence with Hayidakis spotted him playing in an under-12 Eastern Province tournament at Mossel Bay. Kolisi had come through a township school, Emsengeni Primary, and was encouraged in his rugby by Eric Songwiqi.
“Siya was one of three boys we saw during that week who all had potential and we offered them full scholarships to Grey Juniors, then on to the High School,” said Hayidakis, now teaching in Bloemfontein. “It has been a school strategy to try to create opportunities for others, providing education, clothing, pocket money, whatever was needed. We felt Siya and the boys, Phaphama Hoyi and Zolami Saku, had got something that we could hopefully nurture and grow. How might you measure success for kids like these? Well, getting a job to support a family is a great achievement in itself and Phaphama managed that, while Zolami went on to do a three-year degree course. All three played for South Africa Schools A or B teams. Siya, of course, went on to achieve great success.”
But, it would seem, he remains the person he always was – fun, engaging and considerate. “Siya is a sucker for a lame duck,” said Hayidakis. “He’s the first to help anyone. Everyone loves Siya, at school, with the Stormers and now the Springboks. His glass is always half-full. When people are glum, Siya peps them up with a song. He is always singing. His personality, his character, are big drivers for him and taken him to where he is. He is no token appointment. He is not Springbok captain because he is black. He is Springbok captain because he is Siya Kolisi, a fine player. It will bring a tear to his eye when he does line up for the anthems. He couldn’t have dreamt of this moment when he was a kid.
“It was beyond anyone’s imaginings. It shows, though, what is possible. I think the whole country is going to love this kid. It is South African rugby’s biggest moment since the 1995 Rugby World Cup.”
Yet, wisely, there are those who urge restraint about overvarnishing the mythology. Former Springbok captain and one-time Munster and Leicester centre Jean de Villiers makes a plea for Kolisi to be seen as an individual first and foremost.
“There are many layers to this story and it’s only right that Siya should be seen as getting to this point because he has deserved it and not because of his colour,” said De Villiers, who was captain when Kolisi made his debut against Scotland in 2013, rooming with him in the build-up to that Test in Nelspruit. “Siya has always had something about him. His wife, Rachel, has a been a great influence on him, too. Siya’s life has been a bit crazy since the appointment. We all want it to be a wonderful tale, but it will be tough. But Siya has what it takes. He has come through real adversity. One thing is for sure. He will make sure that Saturday is not about him. It will be about the team.”
The Springboks came to Grey HS for a training session shortly after Kolisi had started there. “He came running into my room, excited but too shy and overawed to go and get an autograph from Schalk Burger,” said Carelse.
“I pushed some paper into his hand and told him to get out there and do it himself.”
As he did and has continued to do, one who returns regularly to the school. “Siya has this ability to walk into a room with 50 people in it and make every one one of them believe that it is they who are special,” said Carelse.
Kolisi will be wearing the No 6 jersey tomorrow, the number worn so famously by Nelson Mandela when the Springboks won the World Cup in 1995.
It has taken more years than imagined for rugby’s rainbow nation to appear, but tomorrow a pot of gold is to be found at Ellis Park.