Johannesburg - New Springbok captain Siya Kolisi admits his
form hasn’t been what he would have liked it to be this year, but says he relishes
the challenge of raising the level of his game while he is captain.
Kolisi’s Stormers side has struggled this season and with it
he hasn’t been in the explosive form that he was in in 2017, but with new Bok
coach Rassie Erasmus already pointing out that Kolisi has excelled off the ball
with several other areas of the game that they have told him to concentrate on,
the new Bok captain is confident his form will return, according to supersport.com website.
But he does realise that the spotlight of scrutiny will be on him more now that he is in the leadership position.
“I know. It’s been really tough if you compare my season
this year to last year. I’ll admit last year you basically saw me more. I was
carrying the ball more, making game-breaking opportunities and this year it has
been different,” Kolisi admits.
“We have been struggling as a team and my performance took a
knock and I’ve had to kind of focus on things I don’t normally do. I like
carrying the ball and making big hits.
“And now coming to the alignment camp and speaking to coach Rassie. They look at different departments and I started working on the breakdown and my tackling and getting off the ground as quickly as possible.
“I was seeing I wasn’t getting as much ball as possible so I
had to focus on other departments.
“It is getting better and I know now that the spotlight is
on me and I have to perform. Obviously, that is a great challenge and its great
pressure, I am excited. I love challenges and I am looking forward to it.”
Kolisi adds that since becoming captain at the Stormers he
has had to grow a lot as a person and a player. The soft-spoken flanker has
learnt to speak up, and speak his mind as a leader, something he is still
learning.
“I’ve had to grow quite a lot. I’ve had to change not who I
am but how I handle things. Last year I was learning with the new coach, coach
Robbie (Fleck) and obviously, there is a lot of shared leadership but I was
lucky because I had guys like Eben (Etzebeth) and Pieter-Steph (Du Toit) who
took control.
“Obviously the longer the season went, the more confidence
and started learning and started speaking more. I am not a man of many words
but I have had to speak more. I have had to get out of my comfort zone and make
sure all the sides of my leadership come together as well.
“I make sure all the sides of my leadership come together as
one and I am getting better, I’m still learning and there is still a lot for me
to learn and I know I will learn a lot more from coach Rassie and the guys in
the team now. Guys like Duane (Vermeulen) and Bismarck (Du Plessis), who have
more experience than I do. I’m always willing to listen to guys who will help
me grow and develop my leadership.”
Kolisi has been around long enough to know that he will be scrutinised more than others, but he is up for the challenge and is willing to grow in the role. That is precisely what South African rugby needs right now.
