Rugby World Cup winner Siya Kolisi has become a leader for South Africa, says his idol Schalk Burger
- The 2007 World Cup winner Burger describes his country’s ‘chequered past’ and the ‘overwhelming’ role that rugby has on its people
- ‘The Incredible Schalk’, in town for Hong Kong Sevens-Laureus partnership, compares political unrest to South Africa
The fairy-tale journey of South African rugby’s first-ever black captain Siya Kolisi – from playing with bricks as a child to lifting the 2019 World Cup this month – has warmed the hearts of all sports fans.
When asked where he was the last time the Springboks lifted the Webb Ellis Cup 12 years ago, the 28-year-old Kolisi revealed he had watched the game in a tavern as his household did not have a television.
In a country rife with sociopolitical instability for what feels like time immemorial, heroes were and are very much welcome. Kolisi’s was Schalk Burger: the 1.93-metre tall, shaggy-haired, fearless flanker who relished the game’s physical side.
Nicknamed Tow-Truck – because he was always first to the breakdown – Burger was twice South African player of the year and IRB player of the year in 2004. He was an indispensable part of the 2007 World Cup-winning team and naturally became the poster boy for much of the new-gen.
A photo recently re-emerged on social media of then 13-year-old schoolboy Kolisi eagerly handing Burger a pen and paper for an autograph. Who knew that the pair from Port Elizabeth would end up as teammates for Western Province and The Stormers – let alone each win a Rugby World Cup.