Temba Bavuma reveals captain-to-captain conversations with Siya Kolisi

The two-time rugby World Cup winner has made an appearance at some Proteas celebrations following their WTC victory, and Bavuma says he’s tried his best to feed off of his energy and get some winning tips to take into his team. 

He also revealed that Kolisi assured him that things do get better when critics come for him.

"Yeah I think it's just feeding off each other's energy to be honest, whenever I've met Siya, I don't go there with a list of questions, it's just a conversation. Sometimes you offload things that are on your mind, you give him the opportunity as well to offload things that are on his mind but I think it's more a case of, I see what you are doing from wherever I am,” Bavuma said. 

“He sees whatever I'm doing and there's that reassurance, there's that backing that things will get better or they'll happen the way that you like them, you know. Shukri [Conrad] maybe he's a little bit more different, a bit more intentional about those types of relationships and he's definitely came and instilled a couple of things within the test space. 

“So, looking forward to seeing what comes about within the ODI space but yeah, I think it's also just about respecting each other's craft like I said, just showing that we're there for each other."

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The Proteas skipper also outlined what he believes are the differences between the cricket and rugby teams in South Africa, and why there’s complete trust in the Springboks whenever they play. 

He hopes they can also get to a point where there’s confidence in their abilities.

"I mean I think within the rugby it's probably a different way that they view it. I think within the rugby all of us look at the rugby guys whenever they go to a world event, there's proper belief that the guys can go all the way. We've seen it countless times, so you know that expectation is high,” he explained. 

“Where I guess from a South Africa point of view, from a cricketing point of view, yes, we might go there with the hopes but I think there's probably that part of the contingency that kind of sits there, of not being sure. 

“I think with what we've done, that will eat away and all of that, from a belief point of view. I think the expectation is gonna get higher and higher, the boys go to the T20 World Cup next year. There's a 50 over World Cup and people are gonna be expecting the same type of performances. 

“So, I do sense and believe that there'll be a shift in trust and faith but obviously that comes with a certain level of pressure that us as players need to live up to."