Exclusive: Kolisi on his miraculous recovery to make World Cup history

It was the story of the 2023 Rugby World Cup and now, in an exclusive interview with TNT Sports, South Africa icon Siya Kolisi has explained how he made a miraculous recovery from an ACL injury to captain his side to back-to-back titles.

Kolisi’s dream of appearing in France appeared to be over when he suffered the serious knee injury during Sale Sharks’ United Rugby Championship match with Munster last April, just five months before the start of the tournament.

However, the 32-year-old – who has since joined Racing 92 – was determined to do everything in his power to recover, and just over four months after his injury, he lined up for the Springboks for a friendly against Wales.

“[I returned after] four months and one day, that was our first game against Wales,” he told TNT Sports pundit Ugo Monye.

“When I got injured in the Sharks game against Munster, I went home and thought I was okay, I still walked around. I went for a scan and they told me, that’s it, nine months.

“I told my wife that it was done, and she burst into tears. She was like, ‘no, it’s not done’.

South Africa’s flanker and captain Siya Kolisi reacts as he holds the throphy from the bus carrying the rest of the team during the Springboks Champions trophy tour in East London, South Africa.

Image credit: Getty Images

“We are Christians, we believe in God – she prayed and we just hoped for the best.”

The night before Kolisi was due to have surgery, doubts had crept in – he was reconsidering his next steps.

He explained: “I stopped eating that night at 10pm for the operation the next day, but I couldn’t sleep. I wasn’t sure about the doctor. He didn’t give me good energy. There was another doctor in Cape Town. I cancelled that appointment and went to Cape Town.”

The doctor gave him a 70% chance of making the World Cup, and the early indications were promising.

“I had the operation, I didn’t use the brace, I walked out of the hospital. I could bend my knee to 95 degrees,” he said.

“I used crutches probably for three days. I believed because he [the doctor] made me believe. He told me ‘I fixed you, there’s no more’. So I trusted him.

“There was rehab from the second day after the op. Every single day for three months straight, I was doing everything about my knee.”

Just 119 days after his last competitive game and three weeks before the start of the World Cup, Kolisi featured for South Africa at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, providing an assist after just three minutes.

Springboks parade Webb Ellis Cup after South Africa’s Rugby World Cup triumph

“In the game against Wales, I said I’m not going to hesitate – if it breaks it breaks, but I’ve done everything in my power to be ready,” Kolisi said of his 40-minute cameo.

Sending a warning to the rest of the competition, Kolisi scored a try as the Springboks brushed aside New Zealand – and it proved a precursor for the events that would unfold in Paris.

“In the next game we played the All Blacks and I remember being hit just before the try line, but I got up and got the ball again straight after and I scored,” he continued.

“I wanted to show for myself and also to my team-mates to know this guy is really good because you don’t want people to think you’re being taken just because of who you are and what you’ve done before.

“I wanted to be there because I deserved to be there.”

The Springboks would ultimately win the World Cup for a record fourth time with a nail-biting 12-11 victory over 14-man New Zealand, in doing so becoming the first nation to win the tournament back-to-back away from home.

“With all the history we have in our country, we knew what it would mean. We said this World Cup is not for us – it’s for the people back home,” Kolisi reflected.

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