Siya Kolisi: 'Brutal' Boks ready to give fans what they want to see against France

By SABC Sport
15th October 2023

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi has warned France to expect nothing less than a "brutal" onslaught in Paris on Sunday night, even as he hailed his team's impressive disciplinary record.

The Boks are renowned for their physical approach to the game, with France forward William Servat even suggesting on Wednesday that South Africa "can be very violent" in terms of the intensity they bring to a match.

Kolisi was quick to point out that the Boks are able to bring their intensity without overstepping the law, however, and warned France they could expect more of the same on Sunday.

"Our discipline has been really good - we are the only team who haven't received a yellow card in this tournament. We do play physically, we do play on the edge, but we train to tackle correctly and stay on-side," the Bok skipper said.

"We have to live on the edge - South African teams are like that. We play as hard as we can for 80 minutes, and people enjoy our rugby because it's brutal."

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Meanwhile, Kolisi also paid tribute to the Springbok coaches, who have been doing everything they can to prepare the players for the challenge that lies ahead.

"Our coaching staff has been amazing. We have prepared flat-out, and we have simulated match conditions at training," he said.

"We have had a speaker at training to replicate the type of noise that you normally hear in a French crowd and the songs they sing.

"We remember what it was like when we played France in Marseille last year - we couldn't even hear each other. We learnt from that. So, the important thing is to get the communication through. It is really loud and different, so we have to try and find the voices among us, especially at the set pieces."

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Going up against an in-form France side in front of 80 000 passionate French fans is not going to be an easy task, but Kolisi said the players have their own ways of finding strength in such situations.

"Playing the host team in a play-off is massive. We all know that. We experienced it in Japan, and it is difficult," he said.

"But we find strength in each other, we know we have 65 million people back home supporting us.

"In our last game against them in Marseille, the atmosphere was incredible. But you can't allow yourself to think what is happening around you - you have to focus on the game."

Kolisi was also asked about the return of Antoine Dupont and was quick to welcome the France captain's return.

"Antoine's a big player and everyone respects him around the world," he added.

"We don't wish for one another to be injured... I am happy for him. We want to play against the best French side possible."

Sunday's Rugby World Cup quarter-final kicks off at 9pm.