Siya Kolisi: Four months or nine on the sidelines

Siya Kolisi was the inspirational leader at the 2019 Rugby World Cup but he’s now in a race to be fit for the defence.

Kolisi injured himself during his side’s 22-22 draw in what was his farewell at the Shark Tank. The Springbok captain, though, played on for a bit before being substituted.

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He returned after the match, initially on a cart before walking around for his goodbyes.

Two injuries for Kolisi

Reports suggest that he suffered an apparent partial tear to his anterior cruciate ligaments (ACL) as well as injuring his meniscus on both sides of the injured knee.

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Now he has two choices to correct his knee injury.

One ends his hopes of playing at the 2023 World Cup in France. The other puts him on a tight timeline.

A SA Rugby source told AFP that the 31-year-old World Cup-winning skipper had seen specialists and is set to meet another on Tuesday for a third opinion.

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Another opinion needed

“Should surgery be recommended and Siya agrees, he will almost certainly not be able to play again this year,” the source said.

“The alternate is to let the injury heal and that could take about four months — meaning he would be out of action until September.”

 Kolisi moves on to French club Racing 92 after the World Cup.

When do the Boks play again?

The Springboks kick off the international season against Australia in Pretoria on Saturday, 8 July, in the opening round of the shortened Castle Lager Rugby Championship, which will be followed by clashes against New Zealand at the Mount Smart Stadium in Auckland a week later, and Argentina in Johannesburg on Saturday, 29 July – their final match on home soil for the year.

The Boks will then make the journey to Buenos Aires in August to take on the Pumas before facing Wales and the All Blacks in Rugby World Cup warm-up matches in Cardiff and London in the final build-up to the international showpiece in France.

South Africa will launch their Rugby World Cup title defence on Sunday, 10 September, against Scotland in Marseille, which will be followed by pool matches against Romania in Bordeaux (17 September), Ireland in Paris (23 September) and Tonga in Marseille (1 October).

The Rugby World Cup quarter-finals will be played on the weekend of 14/15 October, with the semi-finals on 20/21 October and the final on Saturday, 28 October.

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