Siya Kolisi: 19 Interesting Facts You Might Not Know

In case you you’ve been living under a rock, Siya Kolisi is the current Springbok captain. There’s probably a lot that you don’t know about him, but today my aim is to change that.

Here are 19 Interesting Facts You Might Not Know about Siya Kolisi

1. He was born as Siyamthanda Kolisi on the 16th of June 1991 in Port Elizabeth (now Gqeberha) in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa.

2. Siya Kholisa’s upbringing took place in Zwide (a township located outside Port Elizabeth). Siya’s mother, Phakama, gave birth to him when she was just 16, while his father, Fezakele, was in the last year of his schooling. Tragically, Siya lost his mother when he was 15 years old, and he was raised by his late grandmother, Nolulamile.

3. When he was 12 years old, Siya Kolisi made a significant impression on scouts during a youth tournament in Mossel Bay, leading to an offer of a scholarship to attend Grey Junior School in Port Elizabeth. Later on, he was also granted a rugby scholarship to continue his education at Grey High School.

4. Siya Kolisi consistently featured in the first XV of his high school’s rugby team. Additionally, he was actively involved in the Eastern Province Kings’ youth program from 2007 to 2009, participating in the Under-16 Grant Khomo week and the Under-18 Craven Week before relocating to the Western Province. Furthermore, he proudly represented the South African national under-18 rugby union team, known as the SA Schools team, for two consecutive years.

5. Siya Kolisi’s senior debut for Western Province occurred in a match against the Golden Lions during the 2011 Vodacom Cup. Later in the same year, a combination of injuries and international call-ups provided him with the chance to secure a consistent starting position in the Currie Cup, the domestic rugby competition. Over the course of the season, he made 13 appearances and notched 4 tries, one of which was a pivotal score in a match against their fierce rivals, the Blue Bulls.

6. In 2012, Siya Kolisi progressed to the Stormers squad and made an instant impression by participating in 16 matches during the season, where he managed to score a single try. However, the latter part of the year brought less favorable circumstances, as a thumb injury limited him to just one appearance in the 2012 Currie Cup. He had to observe from the sidelines as Western Province clinched their 33rd Currie Cup title.

7. 2013 marked Siya Kolisi’s impressive return, where he managed to secure his spot in the Stormers’ lineup despite facing strong competition among the loose forwards. He made 13 appearances and scored 2 tries, a performance that garnered him his initial international recognition.

His inclusion in the Springbok team for the 2013 Rugby Championship meant that he only participated in Western Province’s last three matches in the 2013 Currie Cup. Unfortunately, he was unable to prevent them from suffering a surprising 33–19 home defeat to the Sharks in the final of the competition.

8. On the 20th of February 2017, Kolisi was appointed as the fresh captain of the Stormers. Then, on the 28th of May 2018, he was named as the new captain of the Springboks, making history as the team’s inaugural black captain in its 126-year history. He became the first ever black player to lead the Springboks in a Test match in the match against England at Ellis Park on 9 June 2018.

9. In February 2021, Kolisi inked a deal to join the Sharks, aligning with the team after MVM Holdings successfully acquired the majority shares of the franchise.

10. Siya Kolisi earned his first cap for the national team, debuting as Springbok 851, on the 15th of June 2013 against Scotland at the Mbombela Stadium in Nelspruit. He entered the match in the 5th minute as a replacement for the injured Arno Botha and was awarded the Man of the Match title as South Africa secured a 30–17 victory. Nine further substitute appearances followed during the 2013 international season as he firmly established himself as a regular member of the national squad.

11. Kolisi played two matches for South Africa in the 2015 Rugby World Cup against Japan and Samoa.

12. He captained the South African team at the 2019 Rugby World Cup tournament in Yokohama, Japan, defeating England 32–12 in the final to lift the Webb Ellis Cup.

13. Four years later he captained South Africa again at the 2023 Rugby World Cup tournament in France. The Springboks beat New Zealand by 1 point on the 28th of October 2023 to become the first country to win four Rugby World Cup titles.

14. To date Kolisi has scored a total of 10 tries in International Rugby Test matches.

15. Siya Kolisi married Rachel Smith in 2016 and as of 2022 they have two children together: son Nicholas Siyamthanda (born 2015) and daughter Keziah (born 2017). The couple got divorced in 2024.

16. Since 2014, Liyema and Liphelo, Siya’s half-siblings, who are the offspring of Siya’s mother, who passed away in 2009, have been residing in the Kolisi household. Prior to that, they spent five years in orphanages and foster care in Port Elizabeth. Rachel, who is one year older than Siya, hails from Grahamstown and had a career in event management before embracing the role of a full-time mother.

17. In 2020, as a response to the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa, Kolisi and his spouse established The Kolisi Foundation. This foundation is dedicated to reshaping the narratives surrounding inequality in South Africa.

The primary areas of focus for The Kolisi Foundation include tackling systemic problems related to Gender-Based Violence, Food Insecurity, and Education and Sport. They place particular emphasis on addressing these issues in the Zwide township, where Kolisi spent his formative years, as well as in other underserved regions of South Africa.

18. In July 2020, Siya Kolisi was appointed as a UN Global Advocate for the Spotlight Initiative, which is dedicated to eradicating violence against women and girls.

19.  He was named one of Time Magazine’s Most Influential People in 2024 and has been recognized as one of Africa’s most influential figures by New African magazine.

Well, there you have it, 19 facts you might not have known about Siya Kolisi. If I’ve left out something important, feel free to comment below.

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