Siya Kolisi cleared for Springboks' New Zealand Tests

South Africa captain Siya Kolisi has been declared fit to lead South Africa in their upcoming Rugby Championship Tests against the All Blacks in New Zealand.

Kolisi, who missed the recent clash with Australia due to a knee injury, will return for the fixtures in Auckland on September 6 and Wellington on September 13.

Head coach Rassie Erasmus will be relieved to have Kolisi back in action, alongside Pieter-Steph du Toit, Willie le Roux, and Jan-Hendrik Wessels, who have also recovered from minor injuries.

Erasmus retained most of the squad from the earlier matches against Australia, ensuring continuity as the Springboks aim to defend their Rugby Championship crown.

With wings Kurt-Lee Arendse and Edwill van der Merwe sidelined through injury, experienced winger Makazole Mapimpi has been recalled. He joined the squad last week and will travel with the team to New Zealand, offering much-needed depth in the backline.

“In the past two months alone, Australia defeated us at Ellis Park and went down narrowly in their British & Irish Lions Series defeat, while Argentina defeated New Zealand last weekend and the British & Irish Lions," said Erasmus.

“We are not paying much attention to our historic records in New Zealand. We learnt valuable lessons from our first game against Australia, and we know exactly what we have to do to reach our standards and improve as the competition progresses.

“We are under no illusions that the two games are going to be huge, and every match against the All Blacks is epic, given the rivalry between the teams.

“SA won our last four matches against them dating back to 2023, which marked only the second time in history that we defeated them four times in a row, and there is no doubt that will motivate the two teams".

South Africa have not beaten New Zealand at Eden Park in more than 80 years, making the Auckland Test particularly significant.