Winning was more than ‘personal gain’, says Kolisi
Springbok captain Siya Kolisi says winning the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan was more than just personal gain.
Kolisi, who arrived on the second flight with coach Rassie Erasmus and other players late on Tuesday, received a hero’s welcome from hundreds of South Africans at OR Tambo International Airport.
“We won because we wanted it a lot. I must say the people outside here and inside here did help us a lot. It gave us another reason to fight even harder, we knew what was going on. Coach reminded us that we have a privilege of doing what we are doing and giving hope to the people. It did drive us seeing all the videos from taverns and malls and every single person celebrating. We knew it was much more than our personal gain but for the country,” he said.
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Erasmus echoed Kolisi’s sentiments that winning the William Web Ellis Trophy was for the country.
“I think the other half is that these guys trained really hard, they were really fit and well-conditioned. They did all their homework in terms of their game plans. The second part was definitely for South Africa definitely.”