Ken Borland

Siya Kolisi’s contract with Western Province was only due to expire in October, but so desperate was the Springbok captain to join his management company in their new venture at the Sharks that he paid his own early-release fee.

Kolisi’s management company is the U.S.-based Roc Nation and they are one of the partners in MVM Holdings, the new equity partners that have bought a 51% stake in the Sharks and their sizeable investment will see the franchise now being marketed on a global stage. As one of the most recognisable faces in the sport, the World Cup winning captain is obviously a key role-player in those plans.

But while the Sharks are dreaming big, it is ironic that MVM Holdings initially approached Western Province to become equity partners, but they were snubbed. This by a union that is facing a real threat of bankruptcy. Having been vocal in his support of the equity deal, it was always likely that Kolisi would leave the Cape, even though getting an early release from his contract may have cost him as much as a million rand.

“It’s a huge honour and privilege for me to be part of the Sharks, one chapter has closed and I’m looking forward to a new chapter. Western Province offered me an extension but I did not accept it. I decided to leave early so therefore I had to take care of the transfer fee for myself. After 11 years in Cape Town it felt like a really difficult thing, but it felt like the right time for me.

“After the 2015 World Cup, I was going through a really tough time and I wanted to go overseas, but my work off the field is very important to me and it’s rugby that opens up a lot of those opportunities, but then you have to play well on the field. So I decided to stay in South Africa for as long as I can, and I said if I leave Cape Town then Durban is the only place I would go,” Kolisi said.

Kolisi has also been impressed with the Sharks’ style of play.

“The Sharks team is really strong, they have a good kicking game, they’re disciplined and they have the boot of Curwin Bosch. But I love their style when they do move the ball around, they have a strong attacking game. I have to start producing again on the field, and I believe Kings Park has the environment to get me there.”

Kolisi’s family has not yet joined him in Durban because “the kids have just started a new school, the family will come up at the end of the year”.

SIYA Kolisi might enjoy a big profile off the field, but Sharks CEO Eduard Coetzee insisted on Wednesday that they have signed the Springbok captain on a three-year deal because of what a big asset the World Cup winning loose forward will be on the field.

The uncharitable have suggested Kolisi’s move from Western Province to Durban has more to do with building publicity for the massive equity stake invested in the Sharks by MVM Holdings, of which Roc Nation, Kolisi’s publicists, have a stake. But Coetzee said it was Kolisi the player they were interested in.

“It’s an unbelievable day for Sharks rugby, we started building something special here two years ago and today, announcing Siya is joining us, is an important step in the right direction. Negotiations did not take that long because when a player of his standing comes on the market you’ve got to move quickly. Siya ticks all the boxes – he is an amazing human being, the best captain in world rugby and an unbelievable player.

“We didn’t sign him here because of Roc Nation, although from a business strategy point of view it does make sense. They are his commercial agents, they’re not dealing with hm as a rugby player. Siya would still be sitting here today even if he was not with Roc Nation. We were waiting patiently for him to come on the market and when he did not accept the Western Province offer, it took just a matter of weeks for us to agree terms,” Coetzee said at Kings Park on Wednesday.

Kolisi, who is undeniably a hugely inspirational figure in South African society, said his focus in Durban will be very much on fighting his way back into top form, into the Sharks team and then ensuring that he keeps his place in the Springbok side.

“It feels like my first day in school, I’m starting fresh and I know I have to fight again, I have the same feeling as when I was a young man in Cape Town knowing I had to perform. I really hope to play my part on the field, and off the field as well. But there are amazing loose forwards here and what has happened before doesn’t matter. But I want to fight for my position and my main focus is rugby, to get fit and ready to play,” Kolisi said.

“My work off the field is very important to me. But it’s rugby that opens the doors so I know I have to do well on the field for that to happen. Last year was really tough for me with all the injuries and Covid affecting my family, and the stats show that, but I am the biggest critic of myself. Rassie Erasmus said I must just make sure the main thing stays the main thing and I’m going to make sure I work as hard as I can here.”

The 29-year-old Kolisi said he knows many of the current Sharks players and they and former Natal stars had been in contact with him, welcoming him into the camp.

“I know a lot of the guys, they seem excited to have me here and with the culture and the vibe they have going, I just knew it would be the best place. And I’ve had a lot of past players phone me like John Smit, The Beast [Tendai Mtawarira] and JP Pietersen, everyone has been very welcoming. Change is good for everyone.

“I don’t wake up in the morning thinking I want to be Springbok captain, I wake up thinking I want to be a Springbok and be in that team, it’s why I do what I do, why I love the game. So I have to make sure I’m performing; after injuries and the impact of Covid, as a player I am starting fresh again. I’ve got that feeling back that I want to impress my team-mates and get their respect,” Kolisi said.

Sharks star Sbu Nkosi is a top-class wing, a current Springbok and World Cup winner. He will be coming up against two young rising stars in Bulls wings Kurt-Lee Arendse and Stravino Jacobs.

“They are both very good players or Jake White would not have selected them. We all have a lot to learn but I guess I’m a bit further down the road in my journey so there are probably a couple things more that I have picked up. But they are both very exciting players and they will bring energy. I will bring my best game as if I’m playing against the best in the world,” is what Nkosi said about Arendse and Jacobs.

So what will Nkosi be up against in the Currie Cup final on Saturday? Former Springbok captain Jean de Villiers runs the rule over Jacobs and Arendse.

Stravino Jacobs

“I’m extremely proud of how he has really stepped up to another level, especially since he comes from my alma mater Paarl Gim. So I’ve watched him for a while, he was already a beast at school and Jake White is always good at giving those sort of talents opportunity. He’s a big, physical guy but he doesn’t lack pace either,” De Villiers told The Citizen on Wednesday.

Kurt-Lee Arendse

“He also comes from Paarl even though he did not take the traditional route to the top. But he has all the skills and I have been so impressed by his all-round performance. He’s smaller than Stravino but he doesn’t shy away from defence and he has a good eye for every opportunity. It’s very exciting to see the way he’s playing and the influence of Sevens on XVs, so credit to Springbok Sevens coach Neil Powell and his work and guys like Cornal Hendricks and Stedman Gans who are also in the Bulls team.

“As a combination, both of the Bulls wings have speed and they’re a bit like a Julian Savea and Cheslin Kolbe combo – those are the two extremes when it comes to wings, but it’s complete package,” De Villiers said.

Nkosi, who is not lacking in power, will be marking Jacobs so that could be a titanic clash out near the tramlines on Saturday.

With the Bulls having the experience of Arno Botha and Jacques van Rooyen on the bench, and a Springbok scrumhalf in Embrose Papier sitting alongside them, and the Lions fielding six forwards amongst their reserves, five of them relatively inexperienced, Bulls coach Jake White said on Thursday that he is confident his team will have the edge when it comes to the closing stages of their Currie Cup semi-final in Pretoria on Saturday.

The Lions will have a well-travelled reserve prop in Ruan Dreyer, but Jan-Henning Campher, Carlu Sadie, Reinhard Nothnagel, Wilhelm van der Sluys and Francke Horn are all still making their way at this level and White quickly seized on the composition of the visitors’ bench.

“When I look at the Lions, I see six forwards on the bench so that’s how they’re going to finish and I don’t think those guys have played a game together as a pack. They said they’re going to run the ball but they only have two backs on the bench. So it’s going to be hard for them to play from side-to-side and it’s a big risk with six forwards who haven’t played together before.

“So that will present opportunities for us as well, our preparation has been very good and we are full of confidence. We’ve won most second halves in the matches we’ve played, so by that measure we are a team that finishes well. We can change things around and not just be one-dimensional. We’ve beaten the Lions, Sharks and Western Province twice so there’s no reason for us not to be confident,” White said on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the Bulls starting line-up announced on Thursday is pretty much the first-choice team White would have had in mind a few weeks ago. The exceptions are at lock and hooker, where Sintu Manjezi and Schalk Erasmus have cracked the nod.

Promising 25-year-old second-rower Walt Steenkamp is still fighting his way through the Covid return-to-play protocols, while Erasmus is the heavier of the two hookers – 108kg to the 98kg of Johan Grobbelaar – and thus will start to bolster the scrum, where the Bulls will have to weather an early onslaught from the Lions.

“Walt is still not 100% in terms of the return-to-play protocols. Our medical team is very proactive and has lots of concern for the players, so his welfare comes first, we won’t take a chance and they are 100% sure that he’s not quite back where he should be. Schalk scrummed with Lizo Gqoboka and Trevor Nyakane last game and I just thought it was easier to keep them together.

“With Grobbies, Jacques and Arno on the bench we have a bit more senior, experienced heads to finish. We have the luxury of having Jacques on the bench, who is a great asset, but Lizo is a Springbok and has played many times with Trevor. They’ve been working with scrum coach Daan Human and the feeling was they are a settled combination,” White said.

Bulls: David Kriel, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Stedman Gans, Cornal Hendricks, Stravino Jacobs, Morné Steyn, Ivan van Zyl, Duane Vermeulen (C), Elrigh Louw, Marco van Staden, Ruan Nortje, Sintu Manjezi, Trevor Nyakane, Schalk Erasmus, Lizo Gqoboka. Bench – Johan Grobbelaar, Jacques van Rooyen, Mornay Smith, Jan Uys, Arno Botha, Embrose Papier, Chris Smith, Marco Jansen van Vuren.