Three and a half months before the World Cup in France, Springboks captain Siya Kolisi, operated on a knee at the end of April, is in time to participate in the competition. South African leaders announced on Thursday that there was no question of stripping him of his captaincy. The 75-year-old international third row (31 caps) was injured on April 24 during a match between his Sharks team and Munster in Durban.
Victim of a partial rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament, also affected by the meniscus, the future player of Racing 92 was operated four days later. "The basic argument is that he is our captain. "We will not replace him in his role as captain, we will have substitute captains," South African director of rugby Rassie Erasmus told a news conference in Cape Town. We hope, given his passage times (in his recovery) that he can play one of these games.
The World Cup begins on September 8. The final is set for October 28. The first match of the reigning world champions will take place on September 10 against Scotland in Marseille. The Group B clash against Ireland will take place on 23 September at the Stade de France. "Even if he is not 100% ready for the game against Scotland, there will be time until the World Cup final," Erasmus said.
"The past has shown that he does not need to participate in warm-up matches"
In 2019, Siya Kolisi, already injured at the time, had hardly played in the preparation matches of the World Cup organized in Japan, coming back only once against Argentina. "We will give him as much time as possible," South Africa coach Jacques Nienaber said. The past has shown that he does not need to participate in warm-up matches before a World Cup. »
A first rally was held last week in Durban with a small group including Kolisi. Starting Sunday, an expanded group will meet again in Durban for a three-day course. The Boks' preparation will take place from 12 to 30 June before playing the following month the Rugby Championship, the tournament of the major nations of the southern hemisphere in a reduced format this year, with the receptions of Australia and Argentina and a trip to New Zealand. Three warm-up matches are scheduled for August against Argentina, Wales and New Zealand to fine-tune their title defence.
