Kolisi yearns for first Freedom Cup title with crucial All Blacks clash

By Ayanda Nyuswa

Springboks captain Siya Kolisi has highlighted the Bok hunger to win the Freedom Cup for the first time since 2009 when they lock horns with the All Blacks in a Rugby Championship clash in Cape Town on Saturday. South Africa find themselves in a rare position of being just one win away from securing a first Freedom Cup in over a decade, and their second Rugby Championship title since 2019, after making a brilliant start to the competition.

Rassie Erasmus’ men did the double over the Wallabies away from home, a feat they have struggled to achieve in a long time, and got the important first win against the All Blacks (31-27) in Johannesburg that has placed them in a healthy position. Speaking at the pre-match press conference on Friday, Kolisi highlighted the importance of knuckling down and getting the victory over the line to win the Freedom Cup for the first time as a group.

““It is huge not just for me but the whole team, we are now in a place we have never been before,” said Kolisi. 

“In the Rugby Championship we have always gone into this phase having lost a game in Australia or in Argentina somewhere along the way, but now we have a real chance of making sure we will win it. Then there is the Freedom Cup, we have only seen the Freedom Cup in photographs or when we have walked past it. We have never held the trophy, we have never won it, you have to win both games to win it otherwise the team that already holds it keeps it. So this is a huge opportunity for us.”

Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick also echoed Kolisi’s words, and highlighted the significance of getting the Freedom Cup back on the 30th Anniversary of South Africa’s democracy.

“You can never relax, not when you play against the All Blacks. I think the key thing for me, like Siya touched on it, we have never been in a position like this in the past. You know how difficult it is to win the Freedom Cup away from the All Blacks. Remember you need to win two games to get it away from them, so yes we have been doing well against them, winning one game and then they win the one game and retain the Freedom Cup. It’s very special trophy, if you look at where we are as a country for example, 30 years of democracy, I think that trophy speaks volumes to what we stand for as a Springbok team currently.”

Picture: Springboks