Former Springbok assistant coach Johann van Graan has saluted Siya Kolisi on his journey from young gun to World Cup-winning captain.
Kolisi returned to South Africa as a hero, with tens of thousands of fans flooding the streets this week to get a glimpse of the Bok captain lifting the Webb Ellis Cup on the team’s victory parade.
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Munster coach Van Graan was part of the Bok set-up when Kolisi made his Test debut in 2013 and has witnessed the loose forward grow into the leader he is today.
‘To see where [Kolisi] came from, he was a young gun in 2012,’ Van Graan told Irish site The 42. ‘He got selected in 2013. I was with him when he ran on to the field, when Arno Botha tore his ACL.
‘I just told him, “Siya, this is just another game. Do as you always do.” It is incredible what he has done. And he is a family man.’
Photo: Gallo Images
