Kolisi hails support of Springbok teammates he can ‘lean on’

Kolisi had surgery to his knee at the end of April and he’s been doing intense rehabilitation ever since, in the hope of making a full recovery before the Rugby World Cup, which will be hosted in France in September and October.

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It’s hoped that the Springbok captain can remain ahead of the curve in terms of his recovery timeline, with the goal ultimately to make a return to play during one or two World Cup warm-up games.

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Kolisi remained in high spirits on Tuesday when chatting to media about his recovery from knee surgery, and although he conceded that he was initially “scared” after sustaining the injury, things are now looking up.

“It sucks, it’s not nice to be in this position. But the nice thing is, I have been here before with both coach Jacques (Nienaber) and Rassie (Erasmus). And it’s a good feeling to be supported like this. The medical team is working really hard.

“Other guys in the team have been through the same thing as well, which is helping quite a lot.”

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Kolisi himself had experience of recovering from a knee injury just before the 2019 World Cup, while other teammates have experienced similar recovery challenges.

“I’ve got guys that I can lean on, like RG (Snyman), Handré (Pollard), and Pieter-Steph (du Toit) who I have been speaking to a lot. They’ve done knee (injuries) as well. It’s been really good.

“I feel good. Obviously, each day is different. But I take it day by day. I have been here before and have been through this. I am feeling good and confident that I will be fine.”

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KOLISI WILL HAVE A KEY OFF-FIELD AND LEADERSHIP ROLE DURING THE RUGBY CHAMPIONSHIP

The Springboks will kick off the 2023 international season against Australia at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday 8 July in the shortened version of the Rugby Championship.

This Test will be followed by clashes against New Zealand at Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland (Saturday 15 July) and Argentina at Emirates Airline Park in Johannesburg (Saturday 29 July).

The team will then play three Rugby World Cup warm-up games – against Argentina in Buenos Aires (5 August), Wales in Cardiff (19 August) and New Zealand in London (25 August) – before travelling to Corsica for a one-week camp en route to Toulon for their opening Rugby World Cup fixture against Scotland on Sunday 10 September.

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