South Africa are more than a trophy-driven team - Siya Kolisi

South Africa captain Siya Kolisi insisted that the Springboks have a bigger purpose than winning trophies as they face England in the semi-final of the Rugby World Cup on Friday.

Kolisi's position as the inaugural black captain of the Springboks has garnered extensive backing from various communities throughout South Africa. This marks a significant departure from the team's history, which was once associated with the divisive legacy of apartheid.

He emphasized that their mission in the upcoming tournament in France is underscored by the challenges faced by many of their fellow citizens.

"It’s more purposeful when you don't do something only for yourself but when adding other people that you don't even know or have never even met, when you start playing for others,” he said at a news conference on Thursday.

"It's much harder to give up when you think of how many people would give anything to be where we are.

"The majority of our people are unemployed, some don't have homes, so for me not giving everything will be cheating, not just myself and the team but the rest of the people at home.

"And the harder we play, the more we work, the more we are able to open up opportunities for others.”

The last time these two teams met in a World Cup was in the final of the 2019 edition which the Springboks went on to win 32-12 to lift the title for the third time. Since then the two teams have faced each other twice with each teams winning a game apiece.

“Obviously we don’t see it that way [on England being named underdogs by many pundits] because we know how good England is in the seven previous World Cups that they’ve played,” he stated.

“It would be silly to be thinking like that and we’ve never been like that.

“We’ve seen in the World Cup, teams not even in the top 10 beating teams in the top 10 so it would be silly to think like that. We’re not in that mind.

“We know exactly what we’re going to bring and the motivation we have.”