Siya turns Madiba’s Midas touch into real gold 30 years later
Siya Kolisi is the Springbok dream the late President Nelson Mandela refused to give up on, but it took 30 years to come to fruition, and fittingly it did so in the city of Love, Paris, writes Mark Keohane.
In Paris, last Saturday night, Springbok rugby’s baton was finally passed, 30 years after Nelson Mandela’s memorable and mighty gesture to wear the Springboks No 6 jersey at the 1995 World Cup final at Ellis Park.
Siya Kolisi, wearing the same No 6 jersey, took Madiba’s baton of reconciliation and confirmed the Springboks as a nation’s sporting love child and not outcast.
Kolisi’s story, in the context of South Africa post-apartheid, is rich, raw and far more personal.
Kolisi’s toughness was born on the streets of Zwide, in the Eastern Cape. Rugby was his escape but it did not mean he initially would board that train of hope.
His mentality was that of any teenager but it needed tough love to put him on that train, and the toughest of love from mentors and coaches to keep him on that train.
Hilton and Kendra Houghton were parents to him when he arrived in Cape Town. They took him in as a son, opened their home to him and gave him a room and initially represented his business interests and gave him comfort and love. They did this when he was 18 years-old and not the revered 34 year-old of today.
Springboks coach Rassie Erasmus, then the Director of Rugby at the Stormers, loved the fight and passion of the young Kolisi and refused to give up on the potential of their rugby partnership, even though other coaches may have ended it before the first whistle.
Kolisi missed his Stormers debut because he had gone out the night before with friends, got into a street fight with gangsters to protect his friends and had been hurt so badly that he could not play the game the next day.
Erasmus was livid that he had gone out, but loved that he had fought to protect his friends.
A father/son relationship revelled in adversity and it was one that would take shape in 2018 when Erasmus, in his first season as Springboks coach, appointed Kolisi as his captain.
If not for Erasmus and his faith and trust in the player, then there is no Siya Kolisi story in 2025
“He’s been on the tough side of being a South African. He knows hunger and he knows poverty. He knows struggle and he knows survival. His story is an inspiration because it speaks to so many young boys and girls in South Africa,” said Erasmus.
Erasmus easily compliments Kolisi but, behind closed doors, he is as comfortable delivering a harder message.
“Siya Kolisi is not bigger than South Africa. South Africa is bigger than Siya Kolisi,” he barked at Kolisi at a team meeting pre the 2023 World Cup quarter-final. His message to Kolisi and the senior players was simple: Shape up or ship out.
“We’ve come a long way as coach and player and as coach and captain. It’s been an incredible journey and I’ve seen his growth as a leader and a human being. He’s done it tough and not without mistakes,” said Erasmus. “He knew his journey could be bigger than him because it could be about the dreams and hopes of so many kids. Now it is.”
Former Springboks coach Heyneke Meyer picked Kolisi for the Springboks, but with Schalk Burger the incumbent, it took Kolisi 14 Tests to get a start.
“He was popular and so eager to learn from the likes of Schalk and Duane Vermeulen, but I knew he would become a Springbok captain and a real statesman.” said Meyer.
Robbie Fleck, when the Stormers coach, selected Kolisi as his captain.
“I love his passion, his rawness and his intent. His teammates responded to his energy and influence and I also rated his game,” said Fleck.
Stormers coach John Dobson was inspired by the subtle nuances of Kolisi’s play and the work that the television cameras don’t follow.
“His second effort in the tackle and at the breakdown is phenomenal. He’s the best there is,” said Dobson.
Stormers centurion and Springbok Scarra Ntubeni is Kolisi’s best friend. They arrived in Cape Town together as 18 year-olds and no one knows Kolisi’s story better than Scarra.
“I’d go to Siya as a friend and tell him I was done with rugby. He’d give me tough love and tell me to quit … and not to come back one day crying that I wasn’t prepared to fight back,” said Ntubeni. “He has had his own struggles off the field and was prepared to own them and fix them. He is a great friend and an inspiration.”
Kolisi, under Erasmus and Jacques Nienaber’s mentorship, has prospered in the national jersey. They have always promoted humility over arrogance and team over individual.
It sits comfortably with Kolisi.
“It is always bigger than one player and the team because the team plays for the country, and that country is every culture and race. We play for South Africa and for South Africans because we are South Africans.”
Kolisi gets symbolism and he lives symbolisms. He has embodied the baton passed from Madiba; one of hope, unity, toughness and authenticity.
Meyer described him as statesman and most South African rugby fans on social media this week spoke of him as a superhero, but Kolisi has known too much hardship and darkness to know that he is as much sinner as he is superhero.
Madiba and the late and incomparable Muhammad Ali always laughed off the ‘Saint references’ and both would say that they were more ‘sinner than saint’ because they lived the reality of a mortal and not the romance of an immortal.
Kolisi, in his autobiography, is transparent about his battles and he speaks of indulgence and mistakes. His marriage breakdown to Rachel (Kolisi) stunned the nation, but both have publicly attempted to safeguard their kids and promoted the virtues of co-parenting.
Kolisi, the most inspirational captain in Springboks history, is the sport’s most influential ambassador.
SA Rugby President Mark Alexander, in honouring Kolisi, spoke of legacy more than milestone and of a nation’s gratitude to Kolisi.
“Thank you for the 100 games of heart, honour and hope,” said Alexander.
