‘Feels like my first day at school’ - Bok skipper Kolisi eyes fresh start at Sharks

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi has described his move to the Sharks feeling like his first day at school as he eyes a new start in Durban.

Kolisi’s departure from Western Province was confirmed over the weekend and all roads seemingly led to KwaZulu-Natal as the Sharks unveiled the Springbok skipper as their newest signing ahead of the 2021 rugby season.

The rumour mill had been churning for weeks before anything was made official, but the Sharks can now proudly claim another World Cup winner among their ranks. Having flown into Durban on Tuesday night, Kolisi admitted that the move to Kings Park reminded him of how he felt on his first day at school as a youngster.

“One chapter is closed and now I am looking forward to the new chapter with my family. I am really excited to be here from a rugby point of view. It feels like my first day at school and I have to start fresh again, I’ve got to fight again. That feeling when I was a young boy, and when I started as a professional, I’ve got that feeling again. It’s something I need right now in my career and I’ve got to earn the respect of my new teammates,” Kolisi said.

Kolisi won’t captain the Sharks at this stage

Sharks CEO Ed Coetzee confirmed that Kolisi had signed a deal with the Durban outfit that would run the duration of three northern hemisphere seasons - now that South Africa’s teams have moved up north.

While Kolisi’s leadership pedigree has been proven on the world’s greatest stage, the 29-year-old flank will not be assuming the mantle of Sharks captain upon joining the side with fellow Springbok teammate Lukhanyo Am set to continue as the franchise captain for the foreseeable future.

Coetzee says that the Sharks want to minimize the amount of pressure on Kolisi as he looks to recover the form he enjoyed as he led South Africa to Rugby World Cup glory in Japan in 2019.

“Do I see Siya as a leadership option? I think that answers itself - Siya led the country to World Cup victory. Are we going to make Siya Kolisi captain of the Sharks? Not at the moment. The reason for that is we want to create an environment for Siya to thrive and at the moment that will be with the least amount of pressure as possible,” Coetzee explained.

“It would have been easy to make Siya captain, selfishly it would have been an unbelievable for the Sharks and for the squad. But in his best interest, we’ll keep Lukhanyo as captain and they get on well.”

Rugby is the focus

There seems to be a clear consensus between Kolisi, the Sharks administration and the Springbok brains trust that his fitness and on-field performances come first before anything else. 

The 29-year-old admitted on a number of occassions during his unveiling that his 2020 performances were not his best, stressing that he had to earn his place in the Durban outfit’s starting XV and prove himself as a player once again. Kolisi said that Springbok director of rugby Rassie Erasmus wants him to focus on his rugby once again as he starts a new chapter in his career.

“I did speak to him and all he said was ‘just make sure keep the main thing the main thing’ and that’s been our motto with the Springboks. As long as your doing what your supposed to do on the field, it doesn’t matter where you are playing, you just have to play your part. I know last year was difficult for me, you can’t hide it, the stats show it. I am the biggest critic of myself. I have to fight here, nothing is going to be handed to me,” Kolisi said.