Siya Kolisi cleared to captain Springboks in Cape Town
Siya Kolisi has been declared fully fit and will captain the Springboks against the All Blacks in the second Test at DHL Stadium.
©PA
Springboks captain Siya Kolisi has been cleared to face the All Blacks in Cape Town after successfully completing his fitness tests ahead of Saturday’s second Test of Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry at DHL Stadium.
Siya Kolisi cleared for All Blacks Test
Kolisi missed South Africa’s 33-16 defeat at Ellis Park after suffering a hamstring injury during the earlier Test against Argentina in Buenos Aires.
The 35-year-old was initially bracketed alongside Paul de Villiers when Rassie Erasmus named his team for Cape Town, allowing the Springboks additional time to assess his recovery.
Erasmus has now confirmed Kolisi completed full-speed running on Monday and Tuesday without discomfort and will start against New Zealand.
“Siya is 100 percent, he will be starting and he will be captain,” the coach confirmed.
“We told him he needs to be able to run full-out on Monday, and he did that yesterday and today without any discomfort, so he is good to go.”
Kolisi confirmed as Springboks captain
Kolisi will also resume the captaincy, with Pieter-Steph du Toit originally announced as skipper while the coaching staff waited for clarity over Kolisi’s fitness.
Erasmus explained that naming Du Toit captain initially allowed Kolisi to concentrate fully on completing his rehabilitation without having the added uncertainty surrounding the leadership role.
“The only reason why we announced Pieter-Steph as captain is if a player has to go through a medical period on a Monday, and he has to be captain and he withdraws in the middle of a training session because his hamstring didn’t last, then all of a sudden we have to switch captaincy again.
“Where Pietie just took it for us on Monday, so Siya can concentrate on doing his job, and today me and Pietie had a chat".
Du Toit will instead focus on a major personal milestone as he prepares to make his 100th appearance for South Africa.
Kolisi will join Du Toit and Jasper Wiese in the loose trio as South Africa look to respond at DHL Stadium.
