Arguably the most influential player to pull on a Springbok jersey, Siya Kolisi has been revealed as the most popular player on social media during the 2023 World Cup.
A nation breathed a sigh of relief after Kolisi made his miraculous return to Test rugby on 19 August after a long injury lay-off that threatened to rule him out of participating at a third World Cup tournament.
The 32-year-old solidified his status in South African rugby lore by captaining a golden generation of Boks to historic back-to-back titles after South Africa beat New Zealand on Saturday.
With this year’s World Cup generating over eight million mentions on social media, social media monitoring and analysis company Olytico took a look at some of the stats and analysed which player generated the most conversation overall throughout the tournament.
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Eight Boks dominated the top 10 of the most mentioned players of France 2023, with Les Bleus skipper Antoine Dupont and Ireland talisman Johnny Sexton completing the list.
Dupont, who returned from a potential tournament-ending injury in the quarter-final against SA, led the discussions ahead of Bok flyhalf Manie Libbok – whose inconsistent goal-kicking was a hot topic – until the decider between the Boks and All Blacks.
Kolisi gained ground on the duo in the buildup to the finale, before the inspirational loose forward rapidly overtook them en route to lifting the Webb Ellis Cup again.
When it came to the top 10 most discussed teams, it’s no surprise that the Springboks topped the table, generating more than a million mentions from the opening whistle until the final blow in Paris.
When it came to the top 10 most discussed teams, it’s no surprise that reigning champs the @Springboks topped the table, generating more than a million mentions of the team throughout the tournament 🇿🇦🏆 (2/6) pic.twitter.com/djBPUu8OyO
— Olytico (@Olytico) October 31, 2023
Photo: Adrian Dennis/AFP