Springboks captain, Siya Kolisi, has shared advice to his younger self amid his countdown to his milestone of 100 test matches.
The 34-year-old has led South Africa to two consecutive Rugby World Cup and Rugby Championship titles.
In his autobiography, Rise, the father of two revealed that he initially struggled with taking his career seriously.
SIYA KOLISI SHARES ADVICE TO YOUNGER SELF
In a media briefing at the Springboks’ Rugby Championship title victory on Saturday, 4 October, Siya Kolisi was questioned on advice he would give to his younger self.
This comes as the Boks captain is gearing up to make his 100th test match cap in the end-of-year series.
He responded: “Maybe, drink less. That was coach Rassie [Erasmus]’s message to me.”
Rassie added: “Maybe like all of us, myself included, if we were less naughty, he could have had 110 [caps] already”
Defending Siya, he added, “The way he has carried himself and the way he has understood what our country is about, I don’t think there is a lot he should have changed.”
Like Rassie, Siya Kolisi is separated from his wife.
PARTYING, DRINKING AND STRIP CLUBS
In his 2023 release of his autobiography Rise, Siya Kolisi opened up about the side of him that nobody knew – his heavy drinking, frequenting strip clubs, and reckless spending.
Much of it came before and after his 2016 marriage to Rachel. In 2015, just months after Rachel had given birth to their first child, Nicholas, Siya flew to England to play in the World Cup.
He was not a regular fixture in the squad and claimed he used his time off to drink himself into oblivion.
He wrote in the book: “Rachel [my wife] had come out with baby Nick, and this would have been the perfect opportunity to spend some time with them; but no, I preferred to be out with the boys.
“It was an awful time for her, and I was too selfish to realise. In the end, Rachel got fed up with me being a jerk and flew home a week early.”
“Rachel had had enough. If it had been an isolated incident, that would have been one thing, but it wasn’t.”
Siya Kolisi also alluded to cheating on Rachel when his Christian mentor Ben Schoeman told him, “Siya, you drink a lot, you fool around with women, you go to strip clubs. You post on social media about your faith in Christ, but you’re lying to yourself and everyone else.”
