Former Springbok lock Mark Andrews has praised Siya Kolisi for the way he leads the national rugby team. The 1995 Rugby World Cup winner said Kolisi has carried on the work of building the nation.
Andrews made the comments on the Big Men Talking podcast, Planet Rugby reported. He said he admires how Kolisi comes back each time people write him off.
“I’m incredibly proud of Siya. This nation’s incredibly proud of him,” Andrews told the podcast. “Every time people write him off, you look how he played in this All Black series, the carries he made, the tackles he made, he was just huge.”
Andrews compared Kolisi to Francois Pienaar. Pienaar captained the Springboks when they won the Webb Ellis Cup in 1995.
“As much as Francois Pienaar was an incredible leader for us in ’95 and we needed someone like Francois to hold us together, Siya has done the same thing,” he said.
Andrews said he first met Kolisi when he was asked to hand over a Springbok jersey. Kolisi was the new captain at the time.
“He stood up and he spoke and you could see the respect he had for an older player and how genuinely appreciative he was of me giving my time and he had humility,” Andrews said. “He just had that something special I saw then.”
Both men come from the Eastern Cape. Andrews said that made him prouder of the captain.
Coach Rassie Erasmus named Kolisi as captain in 2018, when he took charge of the Springboks. Kolisi became the team’s first black African Test captain for a home series against England.
Andrews said race was not the reason for the choice. “I think Rassie chose him not because he was a black player as captain,” he said.
“He chose him because he was the best captain that he had. The fact that he was an African, a Xhosa boy was just a bonus and he has been magnificent,” Andrews said.
Kolisi has since led South Africa to Rugby World Cup titles in 2019 and 2023. His teams also won series against the British and Irish Lions in 2021 and the All Blacks in 2026.
He is the most successful captain in Springbok history with 58 Test wins, according to Planet Rugby. The old record of 54 wins as captain belonged to John Smit.
Kolisi passed that mark during the 2026 series against New Zealand. South Africa won that series 3-1.
Andrews made his Springbok debut in 1994 under coach Ian MacIntosh. He went on to play 77 Tests for South Africa.
Source: this article is based on reporting by Planet Rugby. Image: Planet Rugby. Written with the help of AI and published by the Tzaneen Voice Sports desk. See our Editorial Standards.
Tiyani Mathebula writes about sport for Tzaneen Voice. Tiyani covers Bafana Bafana, the Springboks, the Proteas and the PSL, along with athletics, tennis and local club sport. Match reports and previews focus on results, team news, fixtures and what each game means for South African teams and fans.