Siya relishes 'biggest win since World Cup'

09/07/2024 02:54 PM

A delighted Siya Kolisi says beating the All Blacks in Cape Town to reclaim the Freedom Cup was the Springboks’ biggest win since last year’s World Cup final. DYLAN JACK reports.

The Springboks came from a six-point half-time deficit to claim a hard-fought victory over the All Blacks in Cape Town on Saturday.

REPORT: Streak-setting Boks claim Freedom Cup

A fourth straight win over the All Blacks sees the Springboks set a new streak against their rivals in the professional era, while also returning the Freedom Cup to South Africa for the first time since 2009.

Kolisi, who scored a try to cap a fired-up solo performance after bouncing back from a broken nose suffered at Ellis Park, said he felt he had something to prove.

“We all wanted this. We knew how big it was,” Kolisi said.

“For me, the coach gave me a chance when I said that I’m ok, so I had to prove it. I couldn’t go out halfheartedly. Nobody’s going to celebrate you if when you play, you don’t go flat out.  I know that there’s Kwagga and Marco, who want this opportunity.

“We also didn’t start the way we wanted to start. The coach was quite honest with us. In the second half, we did exactly what we wanted. The subs came on and did what they always do.

“This was really big for us. We spoke about it. After the World Cup final, this was the biggest game for us as a group. I’m so happy for guys like Sacha, to be coming in, into games like this, Canan also coming back from injury. We are really happy as a group.”

A scrappy performance saw the Springboks go into half time 9-3 behind, struggling particularly at the lineout and breakdown.

However, the world champions came out firing in the second half, with Kolisi and Malcolm Marx dotting down to secure the win.

“When those things happen, there’s two options that you have, it’s either you’re going to accept that they are doing it and give up, become a victim. Or, you can fix the next one. If you make a mistake, you get up and go again,” Kolisi said.

“The lineouts weren’t just on Ruan [Nortje], it’s on everybody. Look at how Ruan keeps going and how many tackles he makes after that.

“Our thing is that we aren’t going to give up. We are giving our best for the people of South Africa. You are not going to win every single battle, just keep on pushing and trying, coming up with a plan. Every single person has a role in that. We all come out to play together on the field.”

Photo: Anton Geyser/Gallo Images

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