Robbie Fleck and John Dobson have paid tribute to Springbok captain Siya Kolisi and his career as he prepares to play his 100th Test in green and gold.
Kolisi will become just the ninth Springbok centurion, joining Eben Etzebeth, Victor Matfield, Bryan Habana, Tendai Mtawarira, John Smit, Jean de Villiers, Percy Montgomery, and Willie le Roux on that elite list. But for those who have coached him through every stage of his remarkable journey – from a raw schoolboy talent to a two-time World Cup-winning captain – the milestone is about more than numbers.
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Fleck, who first unleashed Kolisi at the Stormers, remembers a young player whose physicality set him apart but also defied easy categorisation.
“He came to us as a blindside and an eight,” Fleck recalled to News24. “At that stage, he was still learning to get to grips with being an openside because we were so well-stocked there at the time. But he came in as a blindside because he could carry so well; he was effective in that because the biggest part of his game was his carrying ability.”
Kolisi, Fleck explained, has always been a player who bends the definitions of his position.
“He’s not a fetcher; he’s not a Deon Fourie who can go in over the ball or a Kwagga [Smith] who’s really hard on the ball,” he said. “He prefers to link, support people on the run and get the ball, to clean… that’s where he’s moulded himself into this hybrid six.”
That adaptability, Fleck added, became Kolisi’s superpower – the ability to combine the power of a blindside, the pace of an openside, and the handling skills of a backline player.
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John Dobson, who took over the Stormers reins after Fleck and knows Kolisi as both player and person, believes his influence is even more nuanced.
“Where people miss the point is he is so good on his own ball,” said Dobson. “He gets low, through, aggressive… so he helps you generate fast ball and his counter-rucking is amongst the best.”
Dobson pointed out that Kolisi’s unseen work – quickening South Africa’s ball while slowing the opposition’s – is central to the Springboks’ breakdown philosophy.
“His second effort in the tackle and at the breakdown is phenomenal. He’s the best there is,” Dobson continued. “People miss that part because they don’t see him do that Heinrich Brussow manoeuvre, but he’s doing the same thing in a different way.”
Photo: Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images
The post Fleck, Dobbo hail Kolisi’s longevity appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Robbie Fleck and John Dobson have paid tribute to Springbok captain Siya Kolisi and his career as he prepares to play his 100th Test in green and gold.
The post Fleck, Dobbo hail Kolisi’s longevity appeared first on SA Rugby magazine. Read More
