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| Siya Kolisi is the first black man to captain the Springboks |
South Africa captain Siya Kolisi did not have a television at home the last time the Springboks played in the Rugby World Cup final but 12 years on leads his team out in Saturdayโs decider against England in a remarkable rags to riches story.
From growing up in a dusty, poverty-stricken township on the eastern coast of South Africa to the Yokohama International Stadium caps a remarkable journey for Kolisi, the first black man to captain the Springboks and now increasingly a new symbol for South African unity.
โFor a young kid from Zwide township in Port Elizabeth to rise above circumstances and become Springbok captain and lead the wayโ he has just been inspirational to South Africans from all walks of lifeโโ team-mate Tendai Mtawarira said in the build-up to Saturdayโs final in Japan.
Kolisi grew up in one of the few black areas where rugby is as popular as football, raised by his paternal grandmother, but did not pick up a rugby ball until he was seven.
His talent was quickly recognised, though for Kolisi rugby was no more than a distraction from lifeโs daily toil.
โItโs tough to stay on the right path because sometimes hunger makes you do things that you never thought you would do,โ he explained before the kick-off of the World Cup last month.
โSome of my friends would steal and some died because they got into bad things.โ
But Kolisiโs talent gave him an opportunity to get away from temptation as he won a bursary to Port Elizabethโs top boys school Grey High, but even then going onto be a Springbok and play in a World Cup was furthest from his mind.
DREAM
โYou donโt dream about that where I am from,โ he said.
โHe adapted well to the posh school but it was on the rugby field where he excelled. Siya was rewarded with a call-up to the South African Schools team and a contract to join Western Province,โ added his biographer Jeremy Daniel.
Kolisi was 16 when South Africa edged England in the 2007 final in Paris.
โI was watching it in a tavern, because I didnโt have a TV at home.โ
Saturdayโs final marks a 50th cap for Kolisi, who made his debut for his country in 2013 and participated at the 2015 World Cup where South Africa finished third.
โIโm very happy that I have reached 50 โ not a lot of Springboks have achieved that โ but the most important thing is that I do my bit for the team and everything else will fall into place,โ he told a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
โIt would be huge to show our country that no matter where we come from, if we can bind to one plan, we can achieve our goals,โ Kolisi added.
REUTERS
