And Siya Kolisi...what a man.
His moment of truth, what a testimony and more than food for thought before you pass comments and judgements.
‘I DECIDED TO LOSE MY LIFE AND
FIND IT IN CHRIST’
Springboks captain Siya
Kolisi’s moment of truth
When Springboks captain
Siya Kolisi hoisted the Webb Ellis Rugby World Cup trophy in Japan last
Saturday, he was clearly experiencing one of life’s highest mountaintops, one
that brought glory to his country of South Africa and to his teammates.
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But just eight months
ago, the 28-year-old was ensnared in one of life’s lowest valleys as the
scandals of his personal life became tabloid news. That was when Kolisi says he
really discovered the truth and saving power of Christ.
For anyone who isn’t a
Rugby Union fan, Kolisi is the first black captain of South Africa’s Springboks
rugby team, which clobbered England 32 points to 12 in the World Cup Rugby
final.
Such a victory would be
a huge achievement in any country. But it’s even more significant in South
Africa, where rugby historically has provided the country with symbolic moments
of national unity that are desperately needed as it attempts to heal the deep
wounds of apartheid.
“His [Siya Kolisi’s]
story about where he’s come from shows how far the country’s come.” – John Smit
“The hard thing to
explain outside of South Africa is what a Springbok win in a World Cup in the
past has done for unification and us continuing on this road of democracy and
in new pathway,” former Springboks captain John Smit explained in a BBC interview.
“His [Siya Kolisi’s]
story about where he’s come from shows how far the country’s come.”
And it’s not just a
story of overcoming racism but also of overcoming the poverty that resulted
from that racism.
Raised by his
grandmother because his parents were teenagers, Kolisi grew up in the
impoverished township of Zwide.
“Living in the ghetto,
we struggled to get by. We couldn’t afford to pay for my school and all the
fees that went along with it, but I went to school every day because it was
where I received my one meal for the day. In the evening, I would return to our
two-bedroom home where seven of us lived, take the cushions off the couch and
sleep on the floor for the night,” Kolisi says.
He began to play rugby
at the age of eight and, at 12 years, his natural talent caught the eye of the
coach of an opposing team. The coach took him under his wing and mentored him
as a player.
“I went to school every
day because it was where I received my one meal for the day.” – Siya Kolisi
“He took me to my first
provincial trial, where I played in boxers because I couldn’t afford rugby
shorts,” remembers Kolisi.
Kolisi watched last
Rugby World Cup from a tavern as his family couldn’t afford a television. This
year, South Africa flew his father, Fezakel Kolisi – who 26 hours before the
match didn’t have a passport and had never flown anywhere overseas from his
South African township to Yokohama, Japan – to watch his son lead his team to
victory.
“His story is unique.
Previous generations of black rugby players weren’t given the same
opportunities purely because of South African laws. He’s living the dream of people
who weren’t given the same opportunities as him … and he’s grabbed those
opportunities,” said Springboks ex
front-rower Hanyani Shimange, who has known Kolisi since he was 19 years old.
Shimange describes
Kolisi as a lover of rugby who is loved by the team and is “a good man, a
humble man” with “a lot of time for people”.
“He’s uniting our
country, our nation. The whole of Africa’s behind South Africa and Siya’s in
the front of that,” he says.
In a piece Kolisi penned for Sport
Go Mag in September, he said God “has been preparing me for such a
time as this”.
“While I grew up going to
church with my grandmother, and went off and on the past few years, it wasn’t
until a few months ago that I truly gave my life to Christ. While struggling
with a lot of things personally – temptations, sins and lifestyle choices – I
realised I wasn’t living according to what I was calling myself: a follower of
Christ. I was getting by, but I hadn’t decided to fully commit myself to Jesus
Christ and start living according to His way. That is, until something I was
struggling with in my personal life was exposed to the public,” write Kolisi.
“I knew I either had to
change my life, or lose everything. I decided to lose my life and find it in
Christ.” – Siya Kolisi
That personal struggle
came to a head in March this year when Kolisi’s wife Rachel found revealing
photos from a woman in her husband’s Instagram direct messages. She then took
to Instagram to ask followers to help her locate the woman’s details. The
mother of four went on to post videos in her Instagram story expressing her
anger over the situation, before eventually deactivating her account.
“Up to that point,
everything I was fighting against was hidden, but when my sin was exposed, I
knew I either had to change my life, or lose everything. I decided to lose my
life and find it in Christ,” Kolisi says.
“Walking alongside a
spiritual mentor, I’ve been able to discover the truth and saving power of
Christ in a whole new way. This new life has given me a peace in my heart I’d
never experienced before. Now that I have given everything to God, nothing else
affects me. I now live and play with the freedom of knowing His plan will
always happen, and at the end of the day, that’s all I care about!”
The skipper also
indicated how he would shoulder the weight of his nation’s World Cup hopes,
writing:
“I don’t have to
understand everything in life, and there are so many things I don’t … but I
know God is in control of it all. My job is to do the best I can and leave the
rest in His hands …
“If God can come through
for countless people throughout history who had their backs against the world,
He can do the same for me.”
The Springboks win has
put the image of Kolisi holding the World Cup trophy in the history books
alongside two other iconic moments. The first was when Nelson Mandela famously
celebrated with Francois Pienaar at Ellis Park in Johannesburg in 1995 after
the Springbok’s win at the Rugby World Cup. The second was when John Smit did
the same with Thabo Mbeki in Paris in 2007.
But on both those two
historic occasions, while the black players may have symbolised a nation
heading towards racial equality, the reality was that there was just one black
player in the 1995 team and two in 2007.
“We came together with
one goal and wanted to achieve it.” – Siya Kolisi
This year, with a record
six black players in the team, there are plaudits for the first national side
where race hasn’t influenced the selection process.
“[There are] so many
problems in our country, but to have a team like this … we know we come from
different backgrounds, different races, and we came together with one goal and
wanted to achieve it,” Kolisi said after the win.
“I really hope that
we’ve done that for South Africa, to show that we can pull together if we want
to work together and achieve something … We love you, South Africa, and we can
achieve anything if we work together as one.”
Archbishop Desmond Tutu,
the Nobel prize winner and anti-racism activist, described the win as providing
“a welcome moment of optimism,” and pointed to the work still ahead.
“Though there has been
much progress since the dark days of apartheid, South Africa remains one of the
most unequal countries in the world, and deep tensions between communities
remain. Violent crime is a serious problem, with poor people most likely to be
victims. There is deep public frustration with soaring unemployment, low
economic growth, patchy delivery of basic services and widespread corruption,”
he said.
“We are a special
country, and an extraordinary people. On days such as this we understand that
when we pull together the sky is the limit. When we believe in ourselves we can
achieve our dreams.”
