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Siya Kolisi
A boy from a Port Elizabeth township who lifted the Webb Ellis Cup twice and made it a symbol of a nation trying to heal.
The rise
Born Siyamthanda Kolisi in the impoverished township of Zwide near Port Elizabeth, he grew up in deep poverty before a rugby scholarship to Grey High School set him on a path to the Stormers and the national team.
What they did
Named the Springboks' first black captain in 2018, he led South Africa to back-to-back Rugby World Cup titles in 2019 and 2023, and co-founded the Kolisi Foundation tackling gender-based violence and food insecurity.
The full picture
His captaincy has been weighed down with symbolism he never asked for, used by politicians and marketers alike; he has spoken candidly about the pressure, about childhood trauma, and about a 2023-2024 marriage breakdown, refusing to be reduced to a fairy tale.
Why it matters
In a sport long seen as a fortress of white Afrikaner identity, Kolisi's leadership made the Springboks a credible emblem of a shared South Africa, showing how sport can carry, but not by itself resolve, a country's contradictions.
“"We can achieve anything if we work together as one."”