Bok captain set on whitewashing England

THE SERIES may already have been won, but Springbok captain Siya Kolisi wants more from his team – more intensity and no excuses.

The Springboks bagged the three-Test series against England following victories in Johannesburg and Bloemfontein, and they’ll be looking to make it three out of three at Newlands – captain Siya’s home ground.

They’ve produced impressive performances until now, and in both those Tests Kolisi led his team out of slow starts to comeback triumphs.

“We want to be better each week. We’ve won the series but we’re not where we want to be yet, but we’re also happy that we’re not where we were a couple of months ago,” Kolisi said.

“We’re always looking to improve and that’s our motivation. There’s lots to fix, especially the way we started the first two weeks (Tests).”

One area where the Boks have looked a bit vulnerable is their defence. But just like other work-ons, Kolisi believes that the more the team play together, the more they’ll gel.

And with five changes to the starting line-up for Newlands, the Stormers skipper is confident that those changes won’t disrupt their efforts.

“The team want to finish the series properly and on a winning note. This is the last match for us for another two months (before the Rugby Championship), and we obviously have our team goals. There’s a couple of changes to the team, but that won’t impact on our approach or our tactics.

“We want to play with greater intensity. We don’t want to make excuses. We all have different defensive systems at our teams, so we are getting used to each other and getting better and better each week. It’s all about time. The more we work together as a team, the better we’ll get.”

Kolisi’s game has improved massively since he was appointed Stormers captain early last year. And over the last two weeks with the Boks, his contributions have also become more powerful. He will again form the loose trio with Pieter-Steph du Toit at blindside flank and Duane Vermeulen at No 8, and – in what has been reported will be the last Test at Newlands – Kolisi wants more of the same from his fellow back-rowers.

Du Toit – who has also been a consistent performer for the Stormers this season – has carried his Super Rugby form on to the international arena, while Vermeulen has been a standout in both the first and the second Tests.

“I think it has gone well for us as a loose trio. One thing I can say is that we are hard workers and we obviously have different skills as well,” Kolisi said.