Cheslin Kolbe has faced some of rugby’s most fearsome players, but one opponent left a particularly painful impression, reports CLINTON VAN DER BERG.
Back in Cape Town after seven years playing in France and Japan, the double World Cup winner reflected on his career ahead of earning his 51st Test cap against the All Blacks at Ellis Park on Saturday.
“The hardest player that I’ve been smacked by on the day was definitely Francois Steyn,” Kolbe said.
“He came up to me before the game and spoke to me, me not knowing what he had in store for that 80 minutes. He was all over me. I think after the game I had two broken ribs, just off him smashing me.”
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Kolbe also singled out New Zealand powerhouse Julian Savea, particularly during his destructive years with the Hurricanes, as one of the toughest opponents he faced.
Kolbe is thrilled to be back with the Stormers, ending a seven-year journey through France and Japan that tested him as much off the field as on it.
“I’m definitely excited to get back to Cape Town where everything started for me in my professional career,” he said.
“The decision was simple. My wife and the kids were based in Cape Town while I was in Japan, and it’s quite tough being away from them for such a long period of time and distance.”
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Kolbe was candid about the toll of a rugby nomad’s life, recalling the culture shock of arriving in France in 2017 as newlyweds with a four-month-old daughter.
“We just looked at it in a way of wanting to learn a different culture and also embrace it,” he said. “The funniest thing I look back at now was going to a grocery store and neither of us understanding a single word. My wife just burst into tears.”
In Japan, he spent three years largely apart from his family.
“The travelling was quite tough and daunting, because jetlag plays a part of it as well. But family is everything. If they’re not happy, I’m not going to be happy.”
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Asked to rank his glittering trophy cabinet, which includes two World Cups and an Olympic bronze, Kolbe didn’t hesitate.
“The World Cup is the pinnacle, it’s definitely No 1,” he said, though he added that lifting the French Top 14 and Investec Champions Cup with Toulouse wasn’t far off given the scale of the celebrations in the south of France.
His favourite try remains the 2019 World Cup final score against England.
“You don’t get those kinds of opportunities to score tries; it’s all three-pointers and discipline that wins the game. Myself and Makazole [Mapimpi] were fortunate to contribute to the team’s success.”
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Beyond the field, Kolbe’s foundation, born from a simple mission to put shoes on children’s feet in his home community, continues to grow.
“That makes my heart happy,” he said. “You don’t know what impact that could have on a little kid and their future.”
Photo: Franco Arland/Gallo Images
The post Kolbe recalls ‘bone-breaking’ hit from Bok appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Cheslin Kolbe has faced some of rugby’s most fearsome players, but one opponent left a particularly painful impression.
The post Kolbe recalls ‘bone-breaking’ hit from Bok appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
