Siya Kolisi: ‘I remember the day I watched him beat up my mother. I get so angry but I must control myself’

South Africa’s World-Cup winning captain discusses losing himself in alcohol and strip clubs, seeing his mother’s face change from repeated beatings and his dream of emulating Richie McCaw

Siya Kolisi lifts the Webb Ellis Trophy after South Africa won the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Picture: INPHO/Billy Stickland

“Sometimes you don’t know how to speak,” Siya Kolisi says simply as he reveals his often hidden struggle to cope with a life that has been challenging and extreme. As a boy in the townships Kolisi endured acute hunger and witnessed terrible violence and even death.

He was a gifted rugby player, however, and a scholarship to a white school offered him sudden opportunities and privileges. After years of struggle and hard work, Kolisi became the Springboks’ first black captain in their troubled rugby history. In 2019, he led them to World Cup glory and he was venerated for his role on and off the field.