‘Tough call, but he took it on the chin’
The Boks wanted to strengthen their lineout and get hybrid player Andre Esterhuizen on to the field.
The selflessness of Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, on the occasion of his 100th Test, against France in Paris on Saturday, to take one for the team after a red card to Lood de Jager, will be spoken about for years to come.
In a match of that magnitude, becoming just the ninth Springbok centurion in history, and with your team a man down and trailing 14-13 at the break against a revenge-seeking French side, he undoubtedly would have wanted to stay on for the full 80 minutes.
Instead, Kolisi “took it on the chin” as coach Rassie Erasmus succinctly explained in the post match press conference, making way to allow the Boks to shore up the locks with Ruan Nortje, and get hybrid player Andre Esterhuizen on early, to play the dual role in the forwards and the backs.
The visuals towards the end of the game of Kolisi on the side of the field roaring his team on as they came storming back in the final quarter to secure a famous 32-17 win, will also be remembered for many years.
Erasmus praised Kolisi, as well as the rest of the Bok squad, for lifting themselves and doing what was needed to make it a special night for the inspirational captain.
Our captain
“Our captain in his 100th match being taken off because we had to get Andre on, who can play loose forward and centre, depending on whether we have a scrum or have a lineout … it was a tough call for a captain to go off at half time,” explained Erasmus.
“But when we said it to him, he just took it on the chin and understood. Also Damian de Allende, who had been playing really well, there was no reason to sub him, but with Andre he could play both in the scrums and in the backline.
“Even (prop) Boan (Venter), that was subbed on minute 35 because he must still get used to Test match intensity, I thought he did really well. The guys who started probably softened up the opposition a little bit, and the bench came on to finish it.
“Manie (Libbok) came on and Sacha (Feinberg-Mngomezulu) moved to fullback, that worked well. So I thought everyone had a good impact, but that impact comes from the players understanding that it’s a 23-man effort.
“In our case it’s 34 guys on tour and I think the plans the coaches made at half-time made it easier for the guys who came on.”
The Boks are next in action this Saturday against Italy before taking on Ireland and Wales.