Springbok winger Cheslin Kolbe reiterated that the national side is a “no-ego” zone, underlining the fact that the World Cup holders are firmly focused on the task at hand and haven’t let their back-to-back World Cup victories go to their head.
The Boks will look to achieve another milestone this weekend against Six Nations champions Ireland at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, breaking a duck under the leadership of Rassie Erasmus when they face Andy Farrell’s side in a two test series.
Kolbe was asked about how much the older players transferred to the younger players, and his answer would have made every South African happy.
“There are a lot of players who have achieved throughout their careers but once there are egos, it is going to be everyone for themselves. The beauty of this team is that the coaches have found the players who just want to play rugby and to make the jersey proud,” said Kolbe.
“No-one walks around thinking they are 'the men' and have achieved everything. It is about giving back — and learning from the new guys also. There have been so many players in the past who have achieved a lot and you just want to continue to make the jersey and former players proud as well.”
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Sitting next to him, flyhalf Handre Pollard took it a step further, underlining how the senior players see their role in giving back to the youngsters coming through.
Pollard added that they have an important role to play as senior players.
“The only thing we can do as senior players is to lead by example. Young guys come with a lot of energy, excitement, eagerness and we just need to pass down what we have learnt to them.
“We also learn from them because the game keeps changing every single day. The way the guys have been training this week has been good and it shows they have the hunger and want to fight for their places.”
Kolbe added that the loss to Ireland in the pool stages of the World Cup underlined just how close the margins were, but that it was in the past now and what mattered was what the side did on Saturday.
“It brought us back down to earth during the World Cup. But that’s history. Our focus is now on this weekend’s game. There are a few other players getting an opportunity, and as a team we want to bring the physicality, back ourselves, and enjoy the occasion.
“It’s certainly not a case of us taking the field and banking on a victory. We need to play good rugby and be effective in what we do.”
And with a number of players pushing hard for selection, Kolbe admitted the competition had been a motivator not only for him but for others in the squad.
“Competition is healthy for everyone in the group because it pushes you to step up a little bit more. The nice thing about it is that it doesn't matter who plays at the weekend, we want that player to be confident throughout the weekend and do well.
“If we are not playing, we try to learn from each other and that is the most important thing. Whoever gets the opportunity in the green and gold jersey is more capable of doing the job.”
The test match kicks off at 5pm on Saturday.
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