Kolisi raring to go after overcoming more injury woes

Springbok captain, Siya Kolisi, opened up about the mental struggles of recovering from injury after the inspirational flanker recovered from yet another setback in time to lead the side against the All Blacks in the second Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Test at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday evening.

Kolisi has been blighted by a number of injuries throughout his career, but has consistently managed to bounce back stronger, and the Boks will be hoping for a massive performance from their captain to help them against their fiercest rivals.

With the 35-year-old now in the twilight of his career, Kolisi was asked on Friday afternoon, ahead of the second Test against New Zealand, if he ever thinks about whether this could be one of his last games for the Boks.

“I’m still young brother,” said Kolisi with a laugh.

“I honestly don’t think about that at all. Especially with the captaincy thing. I just want to be in the team and play. As long as God still allows me and I can get up and recover from injury, I will play,” he added.

“The injury itself isn’t the problem, it’s about all the battles in your mind that you have to fight. That’s the hard part. Because you can sit there and think about things, like, am I going to get an opportunity again?”

Kolisi added that if his playing career did come to a premature end, he wouldn’t be worried, saying he is confident in the players coming through the pipeline and their ability to step up and fill the massive void he would leave.

“Experience means nothing if you don’t learn from the mistakes you made the week before” – more here: https://t.co/9Dw5Ijo1lw 🗣️#Springboks #ForeverGreenForeverGold pic.twitter.com/OspdanHCOl

— Springboks (@Springboks) August 28, 2026

Written by: Ntsako Mukhari