He last played for the DHL Stormers in early 2021 and his return to the Cape team’s colours on the field of play is still pending but Springbok captain Siya Kolisi has already made an impact on the team he will play for in this Vodacom URC and Investec Champions Cup season.
There’s been no official announcement that he had been released from the Boks in Perth so while everyone would have known he wasn’t in the team announced last Tuesday and which lost a one-off test to the Wallabies by four points at the weekend, it came as a surprise when the television cameras picked up the familiar face on the sidelines in Galway.
Kolisi, bedecked in the Stormers colours, was an interested spectator as the squad he has returned to after a few years at the Hollywoodbets Sharks opened their URC campaign with a convincing 29-15 victory against Connacht.
Convincing because, although the game was in the balance on the scoreboard until quite late in the piece, the Stormers were always the dominant team and it was just poor finishing that prevented them from running away with the game.
According to Stormers director of rugby John Dobson, Kolisi arrived in Galway eager to play, something that would have been inadvisable considering he’d only completed a long journey that took in a flight to Dubai and then Dublin before a bus trip to the city the game was being played.
However, according to Hacjivah Dayimani, who followed up his outstanding performance as a blindside flanker against the All Blacks on 7 August with another as a No 8, there was method to Kolisi’s quest to be there and it worked for the team.
“Siya joining was very cool. During the week of preparation everything was as normal, we did not know he was coming,” said Dayimani.
“When he arrived it was a bit of a surprise for us. He just wanted to come and support us and train with us and we felt the energy from the moment he walked in. He participated in meetings and he raised the level of the chats and just brought positivity. Before the game we were very focused and he brought a bit of lightness.
“He got the boys to sing, he stressed that we mustn’t te4nse up. The boys all look up to him and we look forward to training with him and playing with him,” added the Stormers loose-forward.
There is a bit of a Stormers injury crisis at the moment so it can be seen as almost certain that Kolisi will make his return to the playing field for the Stormers in Friday night’s game against Edinburgh. Of course, he played many years of Super Rugby for the Stormers, where he learned his senior rugby, but this will be his URC debut for them.
BACK ROW VERSATILITY ADDS TO HIS VALUE
Where he gets used is open for debate, with forwards coach Rito Hlungwani explaining that Kolisi’ versatility was seen as almost as valuable to the Stormers as his strong presence and leadership pedigree.
“I guess it will depend from weekend to weekend (where in the back row he plays),” said Hlungwani.
“There will be times when we have all three Bok No 6s available to us, meaning Paul (De Villiers) and Deon (Fourie) will be in the mix to play, and at those times it will make sense to play him at No 7 or No 8. And there will be times when we will us him as a 6, where he plays for the Boks.
“It will all depend on who we are playing against and what is needed for that particular game, also who is available. He is a highly experienced player who has won two Rugby World Cups and played a lot of Super Rugby before South Africa aligned with the URC and he can slot in anywhere.”
One of the benefits to 34-year-old Kolisi of being at the Stormers as opposed to the Sharks is that the loose-forward depth at the Stormers means that he may not need to play as regularly as he needed to at the Durban club, when a big hole was evident when he did not play.
The Stormers have four other Bok loose-forwards on their books in the form of De Villiers, Fourie, Evan Roos and Ben-Jason Dixon, while Dayimani, Marcel Theunissen and Ruan Ackermann are experienced players.
There are also good players coming through like Louw Nel, who wore the No 6 against Connacht but is really a blindside, Keke Morabe is highly regarded within the group, and while he has played most of his rugby at lock Junior Bok captain Riley Norton, who has already played on non test cap game for the Bok senior team, was good at blindside flank in Galway.
BIG OFF FIELD CONTRIBUTOR
It is though as much what he brings to the field off the field as on it that makes Kolisi so valuable and there he has already made an impact.
“What he really wanted to do, and why he asked the Bok management if he could fly out to join us, was to come and bond with the guys,” said Hlungwani.
“The best way to bond with and get to know new teammates is when you are on tour. It was really good for the other players to see that while he is Bok captain and a super-star player he is actually a really humble guy willing to work hard for the team.
"He wants to belong and wants to be accepted by the team and he is using actions to get that right.
“To get here he flew from Perth to Dubai and Dubai to Dublin and then took a bus to Galway. That shows the type of person is and we all respect and appreciate that. It shows us he is hungry to play for the Stormers.
"He is setting a very good example and I hope the boys can learn from that.”
MCHUNU HAS JOINED THE GROUP
The Stormers have been bolstered by the arrival of another current Bok in the form of prop Ntuthuko Mchunu, who was one of the stars for the Stormers in his first season with them after moving from the Sharks last July.
“Tuks arrived over the weekend and BJ (Dixon) has been training with us and it is nice to have them both here,” said Hlungwani, who confirmed that there will be no further Bok additions before Friday.
The Stormers are expecting to have the likes of Fourie, De Villiers, Cobus Reinach, Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Wilco Louw, Zachary Porthen, and Damian Willemse join Kolisi, Mchunu and Dixon in being available for the first home match against the Sharks on 10 October.
Missing from that group is Cheslin Kolbe, who is still injured, but another off-season acquisition, the former Lions and Junior Bok scrumhalf Haashim Pead, is in training in Cape Town and could also be available for the coastal derby.