1
Siya Kolisi: Where I'd like to play if I ever left South Africa
By Liam Heagney
Springboks World Cup-winning skipper Siya Kolisi has revealed where he would like to play his club rugby if he ever left South Africa. The soon-to-be 31-year-old back-rower joined the Sharks in Durban in February 2021 after spending a decade playing for the Stormers in Cape Town and he is immensely happy with that move.
However, during a guest appearance on this week's RugbyPass Offload, the South African captain was asked which European club would he fancy joining if he had the chance to. Kolisi, though, suggested a switch to Europe would be too much for him.
Not only does he love South Africa too much and is too attached to it, the relentlessness of the game in Europe wouldn't be to his liking and he would instead look to go to somewhere like Japan where the rigours of the Top League aren't as draining on the body.
"I have thought a lot about it [moving] but I would miss South Africa too much, number one," said the Springboks skipper when asked where he would live to play if he left his homeland for club rugby. "I know we are a third world country and have so many struggles but I still think it is the greatest country in the world.
"There is so much that I love here in South Africa. I now have a young family settling down. I have moved now from Cape Town to Durban so, but in the past I did want to (move).
"I was talking to a club after 2015, I was talking to Toulouse before Cheslin (Kolbe) went, but since then I don't know. I'm not getting any younger now so I'm not sure if I would go to Europe. If I ever leave I think I would go to Japan. I can't leave this hard rugby to another hard rugby."
Kolisi was also asked for his thoughts on the speculation that the Springboks will eventually migrate from the Rugby Championship and instead join up with the Six Nations. "Honestly I really don't think about that too much because I enjoy playing in the Championship and we have got a long commitment.
"I have only heard that in the news... I do enjoy the battle that we have with New Zealand and I wouldn't be against anything. I just do what I am told. I go to training and I work and if it is the competition we are playing in, that's it. At the moment our full focus is with the Championship this year and it's going to be hard and really quick."
Trending on RugbyPass
2
Jake White: Ireland, Australia and Wales have the same problem
3
David Campese names his Springbok world player of the year winner
4
Let's be real about these All Blacks
5
Latest Comments
The England backs can't be that dumb, he has been playing on and off for the last couple of years. If they are too slow to keep up with him that's another matter.
He was the only thing stopping England from getting their arses handed to them in the Aussie game. If you can't fit a player with that skill set into an England team then they are stuffed.
Go to commentsSteve Borthwick appointment was misguided based on two flawed premises.
1. An overblown sense of the quality of the premiership rugby. The gap between the Premiership and Test rugby is enormous
2. England needed an English coach who understood English Rugby and it's traditional strengths.
SB won the premiership and was an England forward and did a great job with the Japanese forwards but neither of those qualify you as a tier 1 test manager.
Maybe Felix Jones and Aled Walter's departures are down to the fact that SB is a details man, which work at club level but at test level you need the manager to manage and let the coaches get on and do what they are employed for.
SB criticism of players is straight out of Eddie Jones playbook but his loyalty to keeping out of form players borne out of his perceived sense of betrayal as a player.
In all it doesn't stack up as the qualities needed to be a modern Test coach /Manager
Go to comments