Siya Kolisi overcame poverty and is uniting South Africa through rugby

Siya Kolisi overcame poverty and is uniting South Africa through rugbyRugby is not my area of expertise but I watch with those who are knowledgeable. Watching Siya Kolisi on the field makes you proud to be South African.

by More Mabandi

15-03-2023 15:47

in Entertainment

Siyamthanda Kolisi is a South African professional rugby union player who currently captains the South Africa national team. Image via Twitter

A long-overdue win in and of itself, Siya Kolisi's selection as the first black captain of the South African Springboks in 2018 garnered headlines independent of his achievements on the field.

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Mzansi also loved and embraced it, especially after he won home the World Cup in 2019 by stunning England in Japan.

Siya Kolisi and Rachel: A rainbow marriage Off the field, his interracial union with Rachel personified what it means to live in a country of colours.

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Siya and Rachel have developed into Mzansi's favourite couple over time. And the trendiest posts about them on social media are frequently the cutest ones. As a result, I was interested to examine how Rise: The Siya Kolisi Story interacts with the adoration for national heroes.

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It also reveals how his modest origins gave him stability on his journey.

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Kolisi's Story The 31-year-old sporting legend was born and raised in Zwide, an Eastern Cape settlement on the fringes of Gqeberha (formerly Port Elizabeth).

The opening moments of Tebogo Malope's documentary, Zwide, shows children playing in the street and are expertly filmed.

Born Siyamthanda Kolisi on Youth Day in 1991, Siya experienced a lot of challenges from birth.

ALSO READ: Home with the bestie': Rachel Kolisi gushes over Siya

His mother lacked the resources necessary to raise a child. Therefore, his grandmother, who had nurtured him as a young child, was left with the burden. The frame then changed to news clip reels honouring his achievements in rugby after the mood had been formed.

Captain of the South African Springboks united South Africa

Rock Nation Sport's International President Michael Yormark said, People kept telling him you can't make it, and he kept saying, Watch me'.

The late Bishop Archbishop Desmond Tutu, Zelda La Grange, and Hannah Sadiki, who serves as the chair and CEO of the Kolisi Foundation and is also the CEO of Bidvest Financial Services, all discuss the significance of Siya's accomplishment in light of the nation's past.

Tutu expressed: Rugby was the premier sport of the whites. In the years of apartheid, it became a symbol of hate for black people.

Not to mention his peers, like Vata Ngobeni, a sportswriter, Tendai Mtawarira, Bryan Habana, JP Pieterse, Eben Etzebeth, Scarra Ntubeni, Cheslin Kobe, and Bongi Mbonambi, who shared their perspectives.

ALSO READ: Rachel Kolisi spoofs claims family has fleet of luxury cars' [watch]

In addition, Grammy-winning DJ Black Coffee comments on Siya's success in a setting where segregation brought about by apartheid was meant to assure his failure and that of black people.

Black Coffee acknowledged that Siya provided people with cause for optimism.

The filmmakers used footage of President Cyril Ramaphosa congratulating Siya and Madiba wearing the number 6 jersey at the 1995 Rugby World Cup, captained by Francois Pienaar, to highlight the significant role Siya has played in bringing a nation together through a sport that once divided them as they shared Siya's journey and how he has become a beacon of hope for the country.

Rise: The Siya Kolisi Story is available for DStv Catch Up and Showmax streaming.

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