Siya Kolisi Sends Warning About Facing England, Speaks on Repeating Last Year’s Ellis Park Disaster

Springboks captain Siya Kolisi has labelled England flanker Tom Curry as one of the toughest opponents he has ever faced, while insisting South Africa have learned valuable lessons from last year's dramatic Ellis Park collapse.

The Springboks begin their Nations Championship campaign against England in Johannesburg on Saturday, with kick-off scheduled for 5.40 pm.

Ellis Park was also the venue for one of South Africa's most painful defeats in recent memory. During last August's Rugby Championship clash against Australia, the Springboks stormed into a commanding 22-0 lead after just 18 minutes before suffering an astonishing turnaround.

The Wallabies crossed for six unanswered tries to claim a 38-22 victory, ending a 62-year wait for a win over South Africa at the iconic stadium. It was only Australia's second triumph at Ellis Park and their first there since 1963.

History, however, favours the Springboks against England at the same venue. South Africa have not lost to the Red Rose side at Ellis Park since 1972 and head into Saturday's contest having won their last three meetings with England. The visitors, meanwhile, have suffered defeats in each of their previous four Test matches.

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Kolisi expects a major challenge

Both teams have selected experienced starting line-ups, complemented by energetic young replacements on the bench.

Despite England's recent struggles, Kolisi believes they remain a dangerous side, especially after an exciting English Premiership season.

"We've also been written off at times and we know how that feels," Kolisi said ahead of the match.

"We never walk into a Test match feeling like we are definitely going to win... Playing against England is a huge test.

"Their nine [Jack van Poortvliet] is strong in the contestable game. Finn Smith [flyhalf] can attack, and their backs have shown that they can attack.

"I have no doubt they would have worked hard at set-piece as well, and they will be strong at that."

Kolisi eager for Curry battle

The Springboks skipper also looked ahead to another showdown with Curry, describing the English flanker as one of the game's elite competitors.

Kolisi said he no longer thinks about the controversial moment from the 2023 Rugby World Cup semi-final, when Curry alleged that Springbok hooker Bongi Mbonambi directed a racial slur at him.

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According to Kolisi, players cannot dwell on incidents away from the ball if they want to perform at the highest level.

"I'm excited to play against him. Always a tough guy. He's one of the toughest I've ever played against.

"Since 2018 [the last time England faced South Africa at Ellis Park] and 2019 in the final, he's a special human being and I love playing against him."

Springboks determined not to repeat Australia collapse

Kolisi admitted the defeat to Australia remains a valuable lesson for the Springboks, but stressed the problem was not their fast start.

"We know what happened against Australia. It wasn't the tempo or anything like that. We just went out of our system. We got carried away,"

He explained that South Africa became too comfortable after scoring three early tries, allowing the Wallabies to seize momentum.

The Springboks captain is confident the team will respond differently if they establish an early lead against England.

"We just know how to correct it... We'll know exactly what to do then."

Source: Briefly News