Siya Kolisi’s ‘original plan’ was to quit Springboks after 2023 World Cup, says Racing 92’s Stuart Lancaster
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Springbok captain Siya Kolisi in action for French club Racing92 FILE - Springbok captain Siya Kolisi in action for French club Racing92. Photo: Thomas Samson/AFP
Racing 92 director of Rugby Stuart Lancaster said in a podcast on the weekend that Siya Kolisi’s original plan was for him to quit the Springboks after last year’s Rugby World Cup.
Kolisi shocked the club when he asked to be released from his three-year contract after just one season in the French capital.
And last week, after a protracted transfer saga that belongs on Fabrizio Romano’s YouTube page, Kolisi sealed his move back to the Sharks, and now looks set to continue as Springbok captain.
Speaking on The Rugby Paper Podcast, Lancaster said they were under the impression that Kolisi would quit international rugby after the World Cup.
The 33-year-old lifted the Webb Ellis Trophy for the second time in as many World Cup tournaments after the Springboks beat the All Blacks in Paris last year.
After the tournament, Kolisi moved to Racing 92, where he would go on to play 18 games in a season interrupted by injury.
“He was very good and he was very committed to the cause and everything else,” former England coach Lancaster said on the podcast.
“The original plan with him was that he would not continue to play international rugby.
“Then once he decided to continue to play international rugby that changed the dynamic a lot for both parties.
“Obviously, he goes back to South Africa and his family is back there in South Africa, so he probably realised that if he plays Test rugby, he plays 12 months of the year and at 33 years old it’s tough to do.”
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