Rassie Erasmus backs Siya Kolisi to hit the ground running against Argentina

It has been a tough year for Kolisi, who has spent more time in the physio room than on the field. After only being able to feature on a few occasions for the Sharks in the United Rugby Championship, he also missed the entire first half of the Nations Championship because of a hamstring strain.

However, he has been passed fit to play against Argentina and Erasmus has thrown him straight back into the starting lineup with no concerns about his ability to quickly get back up to speed.

"The one guy that we don't have to worry about coming back from injury is Siya. Before the 2023 World Cup, Siya had a long-term knee injury, and it was always a race against time to see if he would be ready, but he won the race," Erasmus said.

"He also had a problem before the 2019 World Cup. Probably because of his age and his experience of injuries, he has learned how to deal with injuries, how to rehab and handle the pressure and the frustrations that you go through.

"Siya's very diligent with that, and from our experience, we've never been unsure about selecting him. He's always delivered."

Erasmus has made sure to cover his bases, though, with options on the bench to cover for Kolisi in case things don't go to plan with him or the other players making a return from injury.

"We've got Marco van Staden to cover Siya. The same applies to Eben Etzebeth and Lood de Jager, who are also coming back from injury.

"As long as they are productive and deliver on the field, we want to get maximum minutes out of them.

"But they'll probably play a half, or a little more than a half.

"Ben-Jason Dixon will go on for Eben and Cobus Wiese will go on for Lood, because Eben is coming back from concussion and a long time out, and he won't last 80 minutes, so when he gets tired he will be replaced by Ben-Jason at lock four.

"The same with Lood. He has not played for a long time. We will see how long he lasts, and then bring on Cobus, who is also a lineout caller, unlike Ben-Jason."

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