Springbok captain Siya Kolisi says he would never intentionally try to hurt an opponent on the field.
Kolisi appeared to head-butt Scotland centre Peter Horne during last Saturday’s Test at Murrayfield. The flank was not cited because World Rugby ruled it had not met the red-card threshold, but he did receive a warning from the citing commissioner.
At the Bok captain’s press conference in Cardiff on Friday, Kolisi was asked if he’d had an anxious wait to hear whether he would be available for the Wales Test.
‘It wasn’t in my hands,’ he said. ‘At the end of the day, I respect what World Rugby says. I just waited and when they told me I was available to play, I was obviously very happy.
‘I would never do something on purpose to hurt someone else,’ he added. ‘It would hurt my team if I did something stupid like that because I would be taken off the field.’
Kolisi said the Boks would not lack for motivation going into their 14th and last Test of 2018 against Wales in Cardiff on Saturday.
‘We’re pretty excited. We only have five matches to go until the World Cup, so the guys want to ensure the coach has good memories of them. This is our last game of the year and will be one people remember.
‘Wales have had the upper hand recently [winning the last three encounters between the teams]. They work hard for one another and are well coached. They believe in what they are doing and it shows – they’ve won eight matches in a row. Their pack is good, they are a very aggressive side and are going to be different to the other teams we’ve faced on this tour.’
