All hail the mighty KING KOLISI! Power and passion fuel inspiring Springbok captain – who could one day be president – as he pays tribute to his country and head coach

• Siya Kolisi sung the praises of his team – almost literally – following their success
• He captained South Africa to yet another World Cup triumph on Saturday night
• Motivation came from the players’ homes and families, he said after the victory

Siya Kolisi was singing as he came into his post-match press conference holding the Webb Ellis Cup – again. A captivated audience then witnessed the inspirational class of South Africa’s iconic, all-conquering captain.

After he had finished putting the magnitude of his team’s feat into words, it all made sense. All the numbers were powerful enough, but they didn’t paint the full picture.

The first country to win the World Cup four times. Three successive knock-out victories by a one-point margin.

A staggering 28 tackles by Pieter-Steph du Toit on Saturday night. Another flawless goal-kicking shift by Handre Pollard, who took 13 shots in four games and landed the lot.

Those were the bare bones of the Springbok triumph, but it came down to heart and soul, as epitomised by Kolisi — the talisman of the 2019 triumph and now this one.

Siya Kolisi led South Africa to yet another World Cup success as they edged past New Zealand

The Springboks skipper has become an icon of South Africa rugby and he paid tribute to his country after the win 

He lifted the Web Ellis Cup for the second time in a row and said motivation came from the players’ families

After the final whistle, he ran to embrace Cheslin Kolbe — the wing couldn’t bear to watch the closing minutes of the final, having been sin-binned. That showed his caring leadership. Then Kolisi gave yet another demonstration of his humble, statesmanlike aura.

‘There are not a lot of things going right in our country and we have the privilege to be able to do what we love and inspire people,’ he said.

‘Where I come from, I couldn’t dream I would be here today. We come from different walks of life. When we come together, nothing can stop us; not just in sport but also in life.

‘People who are not from South Africa don’t understand what it means to our country. It is not just about the game. Our country goes through such a lot. We are just grateful that we can be here. I want to tell the people of South Africa, “Thank you so much”. This team shows what you can do. As soon as we work together, all is possible. I am grateful for this team. I am so proud of it.’

One day, they will make him president. They certainly should. There is so much power and passion in everything Kolisi says. Asked again about what drove the Boks on, he said: ‘The motivation was from home and our families. The coaches created an environment where we can be with our families, so it feels like home.

‘There are 15-20 kids running round the hotel. And people from South Africa — some of our friends — used their savings to come and watch us. For me not to give 100 per cent would be cheating those people.’

He also paid a warm, unprompted tribute to head coach Jacques Nienaber, who is leaving to join Leinster after this tournament.

Kolisi went onto pay tribute to outgoing South Africa head coach Jacques Nienaber for his work in the role

He said Leicester will be ‘lucky’ to have him as their coach and that his team ‘love’ him following his efforts

Addressing him directly in front of a multi-national audience, he said: ‘Jacques, honestly, it’s been a huge honour for me. As a team, we love you; not as a coach but as a person. You talk to me as a father, a husband, a son. It goes such a long way. Thank you. We honour you as a team. All the best. They will be lucky to have you.’

New Zealand were heroic in 14-man adversity after captain Sam Cane was sent off for colliding with the head of Jesse Kriel. But the Boks coped with adversity too, following the early loss of injured hooker, Bongi Mbonambi, who started the final after a turbulent week when he was accused of racially abusing England’s Tom Curry. 

Centre Damian de Allende spoke about how Mbonambi had coped with the storm around him, saying: ‘Bongi was very relaxed. He knows he did nothing wrong. As a squad, we back each other. If you do something wrong, you own up to it and say: “I’m sorry, I made a mistake”. But Bongi never did that, so we accepted that he didn’t do anything wrong. There was a big media blow-up, but I think Bongi handled it well. He’s a great human.

‘Whether he did it or not, we all make mistakes, we all hear things wrong, but I don’t see Bongi as being rude or racist to any race.’

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