Nick Mallett believes Springbok captain Siya Kolisi will need to hit the ground running on his return from injury to prevent Paul de Villiers from taking the No 6 jersey.
The 35-year-old Kolisi missed the Boks’ July Nations Championship campaign through injury, paving the way for 23-year-old De Villiers to produce a series of standout performances in his first three Test appearances against England, Scotland and Wales.
Kolisi is set to make his comeback against Argentina in Buenos Aires on 8 August, but Mallett believes the Bok skipper now has genuine competition for his place.
“A lot of people have got question marks around how far Siya Kolisi is going to go,” the former Bok coach said on the Talking Boks podcast.
“Obviously, in his mind, he’s preparing for the 2027 World Cup. But the performances of someone like Paul de Villiers have been such that Siya is going to have to perform really well to keep Paul out of the team.
“We know that Rassie [Erasmus] shares the leadership role around the squad. Siya is a fabulous leader, but he needs to play and he needs to play really well against Argentina because he’s going to be tested against the All Blacks.
“When we had Kwagga Smith [who is currently injured], Siya was used for about 45 or 50 minutes and then Kwagga would come on to finish the game.
“We know what Kwagga’s battle stats are like. He’s an incredibly energetic rugby player and Paul de Villiers is equally so.
“So if Siya starts, we know someone like Paul will probably come off the bench to finish the game with high intensity.
“We’re getting to the stage – what do they call it in soccer? Squeaky-bum time – where these older players have got to keep performing.
“When we say we’ve got strength in depth, it’s no good having these really good youngsters snapping at their heels if you don’t put them on the field and allow them to perform against top opposition.”
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While both players wear the No 6 jersey, Mallett says they offer different strengths.
“Siya is a great ball-carrier,” he said. “He’s an immensely dense runner. He’s compact and he bounces people off. I think his nickname in Xhosa is the ‘Concrete Mixer’. He plays like a runaway concrete mixer truck.
“When you put him into wider spaces, he’s got tremendous offloading skills and very good hands.
“He hits hard on defence and he’s a very strong tackler. His preference is to counter-ruck rather than steal the ball. He’s got a very good work rate around the ruck and is quite prepared to physically remove an opponent to win a turnover.
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“Paul is different.
“He’s a more evasive runner. He tries not to run into players. He tries to step them. He’s got very good feet and good passing skills. He’s got the ability to draw and pass rather than simply smashing people out of the way.
“His instincts are to be over the tackle the moment a player goes to ground. He’s outstanding over the ball. He listens to the referee. His balance is brilliant. He stays on his feet and he’s like a limpet. It’s very, very difficult to get him off the ball.
“So those are the differences between the two.
“They’re both very effective. But Paul de Villiers has been playing really well and he’s close to 13 years younger.”
Photo: Richard Huggard/Gallo Images
The post Mallett: Siya must play well to keep Paul out appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Nick Mallett believes Springbok captain Siya Kolisi will need to hit the ground running on his return from injury to prevent Paul de Villiers from taking the No 6 jersey.
The post Mallett: Siya must play well to keep Paul out appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
