Siyamthanda Kolisi

Background

Kolisi grew up in the impoverished Zwide township outside Portuguese Elizabeth and endured a tough upbringing.

Career

He has the ability to play in any position in the back-row but has thus far mostly featured as a flank. At the age of 12 he impressed scouts at a youth tournament in Mossel Bay and was offered a scholarship at Grey Junior in Portuguese Elizabeth. He was also a part of the Eastern Province Kings youth set-up between 2007 and 2009, playing in the Under-16 Grant Khomo week and the Under-18 Craven Week before shifting west to join Western Province.

2012 saw him graduate to the Stormers squad and he made an immediate impact with 16 appearances during the season and 1 try.

He was back with a bang the following year and held his place in the Stormers side despite fierce competition among the loose forwards. 13 appearances and 2 tries were recorded and this earned him his first international recognition.

He made his Springbok debut on 15 June 2013 against Scotland at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit.

Achievements

• Kolisi made his senior debut for Western Province against the Golden Lions during the 2011 Vodacom Cup and later in the year several injuries and international call-ups gave him the opportunity to make regular starts in the Currie Cup. The second half of the year was not so kind to him as a thumb injury restricted him to just one appearance in the 2012 Currie Cup and he had to watch on from the sidelines as Province lifted their 33rd Currie Cup title. Being part of the Springbok set-up for the 2013 Rugby Championship meant he only played in Western Province"s final 3 matches of the 2013 Currie Cup and he was powerless to prevent them from slipping to a surprise 33–19 home defeat to the Natal Sharks in the final of the competition. He replaced the injured Arno Botha in the 5th minute and was named as Manitoba of the Match as his side won 30–17.

Membership

He subsequently moved up to Grey High School, where he was a member of the first XV rugby team Kolisi was a member of the South Africa under 20 side that competed in both the 2010 and 2011 Institutional Review Board Junior World Championships. 9 further substitute appearances followed during the 2013 international season as he firmly established himself as a regular member of the national squad.

Connections

rival:

Blue Bulls