Bok talisman Siya Kolisi talks life after rugby and what he'll miss when he's gone

The 35-year-old forward, who has skippered South Africa to back-to-back Rugby World Cup triumphs, hopes to lead his country on the upcoming Rugby's Greatest Rivalry tour against the All Blacks after spending July on the sidelines.

Kolisi had been named to captain the Springboks in their Nations Championship opener at home to England in Johannesburg. However, an eve-of-match hamstring injury ruled him out, and his position in the team went to newcomer Paul de Villiers, who also started against Scotland and Wales.

The veteran Kolisi has now been passed fit and is part of the 26-man squad flying to Argentina on Saturday for next weekend's clash with Los Pumas in Buenos Aires before the four-match Test series versus the All Blacks begins in Johannesburg on 22 August.

Having left the Sharks and joined the Stormers ahead of the 2026/27 club season that leads into the 2027 Rugby World Cup with the Springboks in Australia next year, Kolisi accompanied his Test head coach Rassie Erasmus for a Smash Sports interview titled: From Zwide to World Champion.

The opening part of the one-hour 45-minute interview has been released on YouTube, and Kolisi has insisted he won't be following the post-playing career path taken by Erasmus and go into coaching. His reticence stems from watching the Springboks play Argentina while sitting in the coaches' box with Erasmus and his assistants.

"I will not be able to coach. No way," he admitted.

"I said once in his box, I was like, 'Never'. I left it at half-time. I couldn't. I also understand when they tell us stuff, what they see; I sat there against Argentina and I saw exactly what they see and it's crazy.

"I would go crazy (as a coach). I couldn't, I wouldn't. I would be a manager maybe, I wouldn't be able to coach. No, because some of the stuff I saw when I was watching I would go crazy to keep on saying like the same thing over and over."

First capped by the Boks in 2013 and captain since 2018 when Erasmus took charge, Kolisi knows the time when he will have to retire is closing in on him now that he is in his mid-30s. When he does hang up the boot, though, the end will suck, but he will be at peace with the decision.

"I'm slowly thinking about it," he said about retirement, "but I don't really because my focus is I still want to play until my body. Like, I had a conversation with coach, and he said you don't compare yourself to when you're young. Try and be the best you can at the age that you're at. And when I can't (play) anymore, I'll know, and he will know too.

"The thing is, I don't try and think or fear (retiring). I know in my heart every time I've had the opportunity (to play), I've given everything, so when the time comes, I always think about it to give myself peace. We always talk as players, and I say, boys, we've given everything.

"We've had the privilege of playing for this amount of years. How many people couldn't make it, or they were injured, or it was cut short because of some reason? You must always think like that because it's life; things happen, and others must come in as well, you know. That (retirement) day will come and it will suck. Yes, it will hurt, but at least I know I can sleep on the fact that I gave everything while I had the opportunity."

As it stands, with Kolisi still at the heart of all things Springbok, he describes being out on the pitch as his sanctuary, the best place for getting him through whatever tough times he may be experiencing in life. "It's still the game that I loved when I was young in the township playing. It's when you get on the field all of that stuff goes away," he explained.

"It's just you, your teammates and the other person opposite you. While I can still do that, I still love that. And that's all that matters, if I still love that. Honestly, with everybody, so many people in the stadium, I'm telling you when I play, I don't hear, I don't see - there's too many things to focus on while you're playing.

"Yes, when it's quiet down, we hear the home support and stuff. There's always stoppages in rugby, but when I'm on the field, whatever I'm going through at that time, it's gone because I've got this person trying to get through me to get behind the try line and that's all I can think about.

"Like, when I'm going through a tough time, it's the best place to be. And sometimes also in the team environment, because we're always thinking of this environment that we have built as a group; that's what I'm definitely going to miss.

"Like, we have got this bubble that we have created in-house, so many things that help to get us to where we are today, and that is going to be a struggle to find when I don't play anymore."

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