Siya Kolisi says the Springboks’ crushing victory over the Barbarians in Gqeberha underlined the importance of building depth.
The world champions ran in 12 tries in an entertaining 80-31 rout of the invitational side at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, but Kolisi admitted there were areas that still require attention despite the dominant scoreline.
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The Bok captain felt the hosts laid a strong platform with their opening exchanges.
“The way we started, our kicking game and winning the scraps, I think we did that well,” Kolisi said.
“Then we started not making first-time tackles and letting them get their offloads away, which really got them in the game.
“They got the ball away and got the upper hand a bit in the first half.”
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One of the biggest positives was the contribution of several players earning their first taste of Springbok rugby.
“I’m so happy for them,” said Kolisi. “Riley [Norton], Paul [de Villiers], Vusi [Moyo], Carlü [Sadie] and JJ [Kotze] – it’s really special and we’ll be needing every single person [this season].”
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The Bok skipper also pointed to the performance of the SA A side earlier in the day as further evidence of the strength emerging beneath the senior squad.
“Even the guys in the SA A team the way they played today was really special.
“The most important thing is building squad depth and the competition among each other to make sure that we keep going forward, and whoever falls, the next guy comes in.”
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— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) June 20, 2026
Photo: @Springboks/X
The post Siya hails Bok rookies after rout appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
Siya Kolisi says the Springboks’ crushing victory over the Barbarians in Gqeberha underlined the importance of building depth.
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