Rugby Union - Rugby World Cup 2023 - Quarter Final - France v South Africa - Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France - October 15, 2023 South Africa's Siya Kolisi celebrates after the match REUTERS/Gonzalo Fuentes
PRESIES COURCELLES, France (Reuters) - South Africa have a bigger purpose than winning trophies with a major social responsibility on their shoulders, captain Siya Kolisi said ahead of Saturday's World Cup semi-final against England at the Stade de France.
Kolisi's status as the first black Springbok captain has ensured widespread support across South Africa’s disparate communities for a side that in the past was a hated symbol of the country's apartheid era.
He stressed that their cause at the tournament in France is heightened by the difficulties of many of their fellow citizens.
“It’s more purposeful when you don't do something only for yourself but when adding other people that you don't even know or have never even met, when you start playing for others,” he told a press conference on Thursday.
"It's much harder to give up when you think of how many people would give anything to be where we are.
"The majority of our people are unemployed, some don't have homes, so for me not giving everything will be cheating, not just myself and the team but the rest of the people at home.
"And the harder we play, the more we work, the more we are able to open up opportunities for others.”
South Africa’s first World Cup rugby success in 1995, characterised by the country's beaming President Nelson Mandela pumping his fists in delight, was widely acclaimed as a unifying moment for a newly democratic nation.
Their last triumph four years ago when they beat England in Yokohama provided delight and deflected from exasperation over widespread corruption, electricity shortages and limited economic opportunities.
"I believe we are a purpose-driven team, we're not a trophy-driven team. We use that pain and those struggles and put them on our shoulders and carry them with us, to drive us to the battles,” added Kolisi.
"We know what the team has meant in the past, not just for unity in sport, but for our country in general and we use that to inspire us and to keep us going."
Support received from South Africa, mainly in the form of social media messages, was also a major motivator, he said.
"I wish you could see all the support we get from home, like the kids in schools sending us clips of them singing different songs, or people going to work on Fridays wearing the Springbok jerseys.
“And the beautiful thing to see is people that cannot afford the jerseys; they wear anything that's green or anything that represents the Springboks. And we see that - that will continuously be our motivation,” Kolisi added.
(Reporting by Mark Gleeson; Editing by Ken Ferris)
