Siya Kolisi: What 'other countries don’t understand' about South Africa

Rugby World Cup-winning Springboks captain Siya Kolisi insists that the hardships faced by citizens of South Africa are what sets them apart as a nation.

What’s more, Kolisi believes that ‘diversity’ is South Africa’s greatest strength.

Kolisi was speaking upon return to South African soil following on from the Boks’ victorious World Cup campaign in France. South Africa edged arch-rivals New Zealand 12-11 to achieve a record fourth World Cup title and their second in a row in a gripping Final last Saturday in Paris.

The popular captain was given the opportunity to address both the nation and President Cyril Ramaphosa. The Racing 92 flanker thanked the President and his cabinet and “most importantly” the people of South Africa for their support.

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“We chose to dedicate this World Cup to you, the people, because we are where we are today because of you,” the Bok skipper said in his public address. “The other countries don’t understand. You have to be a South African to understand the hardships you go through in this country.

“We are very diverse [as a team],” he said, adding: “Diversity is our strength in South Africa.

“I want to encourage [you] Mister President and the cabinet, we need to use our diversity a bit more.

“It is a powerful force that a lot of countries don’t have, that we can use.

“Coming from different backgrounds and different areas, we see life differently.

“The more we share towards South Africa, the more we put South Africa first and work for South Africa.

“Everything I do is focused on that and that is what we did as a group of players.

“You can use that in the country.”

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It is hoped that the Springboks win can help galvanise a country that suffers from power outages, political unrest, poverty and high levels of both violent crime and sexual assaults.