Siya Kolisi’s name was among those chosen to travel to France but the Springbok skipper has admitted he feared he would miss the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
On Tuesday afternoon, it was confirmed that Kolisi had recovered sufficiently from knee surgery to lead the Springboks in the defence of their world title.
FANS: Boks to crush it, or crash out
There were very real doubts that the inspirational Bok captain would be fit in time to lead his country after he suffered a knee injury that required surgery during the closing stages of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship.
It set Kolisi on a tight recovery schedule, especially since the No 6 would need a couple of games to pick up momentum before the global tournament got underway.
An SA Rugby release on Tuesday confirmed that Kolisi is expected to be back for the penultimate warm-up match against Wales in Cardiff, with the Springboks taking on the All Blacks in their final preparation game at Twickenham a week later.
“I was scared [I wasn’t going to make it], but the surgeon and the medical team at the Springboks gave me confidence that I would be okay,” Kolisi told the media in Johannesburg.
“I was very scared and if it wasn’t for my wife, my family and the guys that have been through what I’m going through like RG [Snyman] and Handre Pollard… Every time I felt something weird, I’d go to them, and they’d tell me what they felt at the stage I was going through, and it gave me a lot of confidence.
“It all reminds you how quickly it can all be taken away from you.”
MORE: Boks captains lament loss of key trio
The Springboks won’t be able to call on the services of 2019 World Cup-winners Handre Pollard (calf), Lukhanyo Am (knee) and Lood de Jager (illness), who were omitted from the squad, but named on the standby list.
“It’s very sad and I don’t wish it on anyone,” said Kolisi of his absent teammates.
“But with their injury timelines there is hope that they might still come back into the team if anybody [selected] is injured.”
Photo: Wikus de Wet/AFP