Select Edition

Select Edition

Northern
Southern
Global
NZ
France

Siya Kolisi outlines grand plans for life after retirement

By Josh Raisey
South Africa's flanker and captain Siya Kolisi gestures two fingers as he celebrates the second Champions title in a row during the Springboks Champions trophy tour in Cape Town on November 3, 2023, after South Africa won the France 2023 Rugby World Cup final match against New Zealand. (Photo by Rodger Bosch / AFP) (Photo by RODGER BOSCH/AFP via Getty Images)

At the age of 32, South Africa fans will be hoping that Siya Kolisi has many more years to give to the Springboks jersey- maybe even another World Cup in 2027. At the same time, he will have one eye on what is to come once he has hung up his boots.

But the drive to be successful and achieve greatness is clearly not going to peter out with the end of his rugby career, as was shown when on The Big Jim Show recently.

The South African outlined his plans for the future on the podcast, where he hopes to make a change both within and outside of rugby.

"I want to work for my foundation, that's what I want to do," Kolisi said when asked about what he wants to do after retiring, with his foundation, which, according to their website, is "committed to the vision of changing stories of inequality in South Africa, to see thriving communities," seemingly being his main priority.

"I want to do speaking, I want to talk, I want to encourage people, I want to speak to businesses.

"I love fashion too. I've got a brand called Freedom of Movement, I'm part of the brand. We're going to bring it to the UK soon.

"There are a lot of different things that I want to do, but I definitely want to make an impact in people's lives. I want to commit my time in making a difference in people's lives.

"I want to help the women's game. I think more men need to support women's rugby in the same way that they support us.

"They're playing in the same level as us, working harder than us, having to go to work and still play rugby. I don't believe that's right. So I want to help the women out some way, maybe work at World Rugby to push women's rugby- get more support, get more sponsorship for them.

"The should have the same access as we do. The same sponsorships, opportunities for the women's team. But I think we don't do enough as men. At the end of the day, if the women's sport grows, the rugby community grows, we have more people supporting rugby, more people following rugby."