Kolisi says Freedom Cup a massive motivation to beat All Blacks

The South African national rugby team is preparing for a landmark test match in Cape Town against New Zealand in round four of the Rugby Championship on Saturday.

A win will seal the Rugby Championship and the Freedom Cup.

Captain Siya Kolisi says that the Freedom Cup is the one plaudit that has eluded him throughout his highly decorated career.

“The Freedom Cup is something that we only see in pictures or when we walk past it, we have never been able to touch it and it is big. And also coming back to Cape Town as well playing here after so many years and there is so much to play for we can put ourselves in a very good position for the Rugby Championship and we can win the Freedom Cup and all the other stuff. It’s not about me. If I wasn’t OK, it wouldn’t change anything for the group. I just really want to play the game. I wanted the opportunity and the doctor gave me the opportunity.”

As captain of the Springboks, Kolisi is also aware of what the team represents to South Africans, but also locals who support the All Blacks.

Kolisi says he respects everybody’s decision regarding which team they support and most crucially why they support the team they support.

” We have to respect everybody, there are reasons behind everything, it is nice that those things are explained to us why it is like that and we respect that and we just want to go there and play as best we can for everybody because people pay to see us when we play and hopefully one or two people can turn after the game and support us again.”