The longevity of senior Springboks such as Cheslin Kolbe and Siya Kolisi is due to hard work and no short cuts.
A few weeks before the Springboks encamped for their upcoming assignments against the Barbarians and England, a clip of Siya Kolisi running hard down a promenade in Cape Town surfaced on social media, courtesy of a passerby who was suitably impressed with the Springbok captain’s “Rocky”-like training regime.
Kolisi turned 35 on June 16, and the extra running is part of his steadfast refusal to let the old man in as he sets his sights on one last World Cup hurrah in Australia next year. He needs no reminding that he will be 36 when the Boks open their defence of the Webb Ellis Cup on October 3, 2027, with a high-stakes clash against Italy in Adelaide.
A man who knows Kolisi better than most is his childhood friend from Zwide, Tamsanqa Ncwana, who happens to be the head of recruitment at marketing giants Roc Nation Sports International. In South Africa, Roc Nation represent Kolisi, Cheslin Kolbe, Aphelele Fassi, Jordan Hendrikse, and emerging youngsters Haashim Pead, Oliver Read, Jonathan Roche, and Jaco Williams.
“Siya put the immense work in before the Bok camp started,” says Ncwana, also known affectionately as Mr T. “He knows he is getting older, and that to keep up he has to put in extra training. He desperately wants to be in Australia in 2027.
