Rassie backed Kolbe – and the rest is history
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MARK KEOHANE argues that without Rassie Erasmus' intervention, Cheslin Kolbe could have been playing for France instead of being celebrated as one of SA rugby's greatest players.
Writing for TimesLIVE, Keohane suggests that Kolbe was initially overlooked by national selectors due to outdated perceptions about his size, despite excelling for Western Province and the Stormers. His move to Toulouse in 2017 proved transformative, with the French club recognising his talent immediately.
Keohane recalls championing Kolbe's selection long before Erasmus took charge of the Springboks, but it was the new head coach who ultimately ignored size bias and called him up for the 2018 Rugby Championship.
Kolbe's Test debut against Australia was a modest start, but a week later, he was instrumental in South Africa's historic win over the All Blacks in Wellington. From that moment, the two-time World Cup winner became indispensable to the Boks.
The 31-year-old Kolbe has won nearly every major trophy in rugby, capping off another stellar year by being named SA Rugby's Player of the Year last week.
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"Kolbe, who played for Toulouse and Toulon for more than five years, would have qualified to play for the French national team had he not been picked, out of France, for the Springboks by Erasmus in 2018's Rugby Championship.
"The French media, in his first season, judged him the best foreign import in the French Top 14 and Toulouse coach Ugo Mola described Kolbe as a player who fills stadiums because of his attacking brilliance.
"Fortunately, Erasmus, on his appointment as Bok coach in 2018, shared the enthusiasm of Mola, the French Media and the likes of me, back in South Africa, when it came to Kolbe.
"The rest is history – and the most golden periods of Bok history."
Kolbe's legacy is secure, but Keohane believes with the 2027 World Cup ahead, the Bok flyer's story is far from over: “For now the end is some way off for Kolbe who is part of the charging Boks wanting a third successive World Cup gold medal in Australia in 2027.”
Photo: @Springboks/Twitter
The post Rassie backed Kolbe – and the rest is history appeared first on SA Rugby magazine.
