Kolisi, Du Toit, Wiese Set Test History Against All Blacks
Saturday’s Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry clash at FNB Stadium offers the Springboks more than just the opportunity to take a 2-1 lead over the All Blacks in the four-Test series.
For Siya Kolisi, Pieter-Steph du Toit and Jasper Wiese, it represents a chance to etch their names into the Springbok record books as the most-capped starting loose trio in South African Test history.
The trio will make their 18th start together against New Zealand, surpassing the previous record of 17 starts shared by the combination of Francois Louw, Willem Alberts and Duane Vermeulen.
It is another milestone for a group that has steadily developed into one of the most trusted combinations in the Springbok pack.
Kolisi, Du Toit and Wiese possess very different strengths, but it is precisely that contrast that has allowed them to complement one another so effectively.
Kolisi, who has captained South Africa to back-to-back Rugby World Cup titles, explained that understanding their individual roles has been central to the trio’s success.
“We all have different roles, and obviously you can see Jasper carry the way Jasper carries the ball through contact, Pieter-Steph too, and the work that he does,” Kolisi said.
“Mine is more the stuff that nobody really sees, which I really enjoy and like. If I’m with Jasper in the pocket, I’d rather let him carry.”
The Springbok captain believes their relationship has developed beyond simply accumulating appearances together.
“Not just playing so many games, but learning about one another and understanding what the other one is good at and accepting your role in that and what’s best for the team,” Kolisi added.
“I think that’s what has made us work so well together as a group.”
That cohesion will be crucial against an All Blacks side desperate to regain the advantage after South Africa levelled the series with a 33-26 victory in Cape Town last weekend.
While the loose trio has a collective milestone within reach, Kolisi could also make individual history in Soweto.
The 35-year-old is currently level with former Springbok captain John Smit on 54 wins as captain. Victory at FNB Stadium would give Kolisi his 55th win as captain and see him move outright to the top of the Springbok list.
It would be another extraordinary achievement in a captaincy career that already includes two World Cup triumphs, a British & Irish Lions series victory and three Rugby Championships.
Yet, typically, Kolisi was reluctant to view the record as a personal achievement.
“I mean, the amount of wins as captain is down to the team,” he said.
“I can’t be happy or be excited about that. As long as we win, I’m happy because the team wins. I always say it’s a team achievement, that it’s not really my kind of achievement.”
For Kolisi, the significance of Saturday is therefore not about individual records, but what another victory would represent for the Springboks as a collective.
“It will be a great thing for us as a group to show that we are building and moving forward, and hopefully we can achieve it on Saturday.”
The stage is set and could hardly be bigger.
With a huge crowd expected at FNB Stadium and the series delicately poised at 1-1, the Springboks have the opportunity to secure a 2-1 advantage on home soil.
And should they do so, Kolisi and his fellow loose forwards will leave Soweto having achieved something no Springbok loose trio has done before, while their captain will stand alone as the most successful Springbok skipper in terms of Test victories.
