Springbok captain Siya Kolisi praised the Springboks’ fighting spirit to beat Italy in their Castle Lager Outgoing Tour Test at the Allianz Stadium in Turin on Saturday.
Speaking about how the team has an immense ability to adapt to the red cards to Franco Mostert and Lood de Jager on the field, Kolisi said: “We went through it last weekend, and this week we went through the same thing. So, we make plans in the game as we go along because such things happen.”
“The biggest thing that we were asked this week is to show our ‘Africanness’ and that's about making plans because there are always stumbles, and that's what I am grateful for with our coaching staff.”
“They are always prepared for any scenario, and even the guys who are not playing sit and make plans and decisions; they always buy in.”
Kolisi added, “It doesn't make it easy for us. We can talk about sacrifices, but seeing a guy like Franco sitting there, we could see the hurt in his eyes.”
“That said, I really love the way this team is just able to stand up and fight. We always say whatever happens between those four lines, we can still go as hard as we can and control what we can.”