Springbok captain Siya Kolisi’s incredible journey to link up with the Stormers on tour

Kolisi has done an incredible amount of traveling with the Boks over the past three months, and he did it again to join his Stormers teammates. Springbok captain Siya Kolisi went above and beyond to link back up with his Stormers teammates on their two-match United Rugby Championship (URC) tour to the UK ahead of their opening match of the season against Connacht last week. Kolisi will now make his first appearance for the Stormers in over a half a decade when he takes to the field for their second-round game against Edinburgh in Scotland on Friday night. It was back in 2011 when Kolisi started his senior career at Western Province, and in 2012 he earned his first of 118 caps so far for the Stormers, who he finally left for the Sharks in 2021. He spent four seasons over five years up in Durban, with one spent in France with Racing 92, and he has now returned back to where it all started. Along with the Stormers’ other Springbok players, Kolisi was expected to make his comeback for them once they returned to South Africa next week, with another four more games to be played this month – three in the URC and one in the Champions Cup. But at the team announcement press conference on Thursday afternoon, Stormers director of rugby John Dobson explained the incredible effort Kolisi took upon himself to join up with his team early. Globe trekking Kolisi Kolisi has already been all over with the Springboks this season, traveling with them around South Africa, across to Argentina and back to SA for another tour of the country, before heading back across to Baltimore in the USA and then Down Under to Australia, where he left to join the Stormers in Ireland. “He contacted us. We had been in touch with all our Springboks to tell them we were giving them this week off and then to work out a plan for them over our four October games,” Dobson explained. “We weren’t expecting them to play every game over October, with player welfare, their mental state, the need to refresh and for the sake of (spending time with) their families, and all that. “So we were in touch with all of them individually to work out a player schedule, and then Siya rang us up last week and said he wanted to join us in Galway because he wasn’t playing (for the Boks) in Perth. “I said ‘don’t be ridiculous, get back to Cape Town and rest’, and he said ‘no, the best place to connect is on tour with the team’. And he said he would speak to SA Rugby (Saru) and see when he could leave.” Take your time Dobson continued: “At first we thought he could only leave on Friday (last week) because they needed him to train, and I said ‘well, the game is Friday night so take your time and meet us in Scotland if you really want to come’. “And he said no, he spoke to (Springbok team manager) Charles Wessels and Rassie (Erasmus) and they said he can leave on Thursday. So he got to us at midnight on Thursday. He flew from Perth to Dubai to Dublin where he hopped on a bus for a two or three hour trip to Galway. “I was there when the bus arrived and I said ‘Evan (Roos) and Marcel (Theunissen) have just pulled out, can you play?’ And he said yes. But we said ‘no, you actually can’t’. It’s too much travel, 4G (pitch), hamstrings, and he didn’t know any of the plays. “So he was a bit disappointed (that he couldn’t play against Connacht). We have now had time to catch him up. But like I said, actions speak louder than words. It came from him (to come and join the team), but it’s been invaluable. He is just such a good presence in the team. Cheerful, smiling fooling around, it’s been great.” Kolisi’s impact Dobson went on to explain how big an impact Kolisi would have on the Stormers, not just as one of the most influential leaders in South African rugby, but as a major force in the playing environment as well, and he hoped to get immediate value out of him in their clash against Edinburgh. “Rugby-wise, we needed Siya. We have two other Springbok sixes in Paul (de Villiers) and Deon (Fourie), and neither was available this week,” said Dobson. “He’s not an out-and-out stealer, he gets turnovers through his tackling and counter-rucking. In terms of leadership, he’s got a big role to play, probably around the integration of the Springboks and setting standards. “I could see him in the warm-up last week. His presence, just the smile and the songs and everything, it lifts the team. But there’s no question that the rugby contribution is what we’re after and what we need tomorrow. “What I can’t get over with Siya, and it’s going to sound like a silly point, is the size of him. He’s an openside flank, maybe not the world’s most traditional openside flank, but he’s a big beast. He is certainly a bigger man than he was when he left here. “He’s a really big presence, and I think that’s going to be useful on the 4G.”