Siya Kolisi is ushering in South Africa’s next loose forward star and Springbok captain as he prepares to lay down a marker in the inaugural Nations Championship, writes DEVIN HERMANUS.
Kolisi rarely finishes a match, yet the 35-year-old Test centurion empties his tank from his first step over the white line, setting the standard for his successors.
And who will succeed the most successful Bok skipper ever is being answered authoritatively, albeit in a fresh and youthful voice.
Look no further than Gqeberha on 20 June, when Paul de Villiers, Zachary Porthen and Riley Norton – all successive Junior Springbok skippers – starred as the world champions thrashed the Barbarians in their season opener.
SIYA: Young guns pushing Boks higher
The 23-year-old De Villiers, who delivered a string of Man of the Match performances for the Stormers in 2025-26, made an immediate impression off the bench against the Baa-Baas. He competes directly for Kolisi’s No 6 jersey, at national level and soon domestically, when Kolisi rejoins the Stormers in July.
Lock Norton (20) produced a standout 80 minutes in his first senior outing in green and gold, after captaining the Junior Boks to an unbeaten World Rugby U20 Championship triumph last year. Porthen, who with Norton scored a try in PE, became the youngest prop to debut for SA in the professional era against Japan in 2025, then aged 21.
Norton and Porthen, too, will rub shoulders with Kolisi at the Stormers, and director of rugby John Dobson has already mapped it out: “Siya will be able to help develop these players and mentor them in a way that nobody else could.”
De Villiers, Norton and Porthen are among six uncapped players in Rassie Erasmus’ 46-man Nations Championship squad to face England, Scotland and Wales from this week, alongside Vincent Tshituka, who captained South Africa A to a 40-0 rout of Zimbabwe at Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium.
ALSO: Siya recalls ‘tough, emotional’ captaincy debut
Tshituka, who can play lock and across the back row, was flanked by his former Sharks teammate Kolisi pre-match for the South Africa A and Bok clashes in the Friendly City – further proof of the conveyor belt of talismanic leaders that Siya is helping to drive.
A child refugee from the DRC in 2002 and SA citizen only since 2024, the 27-year-old Tshituka steered the Sharks to the Currie Cup title and played a senior role in their EPCR Challenge Cup trophy run two years ago, before earning his first Test cap last year.
Then there is the 19-cap Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu. Sidelined for the Nations Championship, the 24-year-old playmaker stepped up as a stand-in Stormers skipper last season. He also captained the Junior Boks to glory at the 2022 Six Nations U20 Summer Series and Western Province to the SA Rugby U21 Cup title in 2023.
Siya’s influence extends beyond the Bok newcomers. Fellow two-time World Cup winner Jesse Kriel made history in 2025 as the 67th Bok captain, and Kriel’s willingness to lead while deferring to Kolisi speaks directly to the culture and pathway he has built.
The post Siya busy grooming his successor appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Siya Kolisi is ushering in South Africa’s next loose forward star and Springbok captain as he prepares to lay down a marker in the inaugural Nations Championship, writes DEVIN HERMANUS.
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