Rugby-Friendship on hold as Springbok skipper Kolisi seeks series leveller

South Africa and New Zealand players have formed ​friendships off the field but the biggest respect the Springboks ​can show their opponents is to go ‌hard ​at them for 80 minutes, captain Siya Kolisi said ahead of Saturday's second test in Cape Town.

Kolisi and All Blacks captain Ardie Savea have a long-standing friendship and attended church together, ‌the Springboks skipper said following New Zealand’s deserved 33-16 first-test win in Johannesburg that has ignited the four-game series. Kolisi did not play in that game as he recovered from a hamstring injury, but returns to lead the side this week as they look to avoid ‌back-to-back test defeats for the first time since 2022.

"We respect each other and a lot of the guys have played together ‌in Japan," Kolisi told reporters on Friday. "But when I play against my friend, I show him respect by giving my best on the field. "He's (Savea) the leader of that team and I'm leading the Springboks. Rugby’s never part of our conversations. It's just about life, our kids and how things are going off ⁠the field."

Kolisi ​played his first test of 2026 ⁠against Argentina earlier this month but came off early due to the hamstring injury that has laid him low. His return is a significant boost for the ⁠Springboks, both as a leader and at the breakdown, which was a fierce contest last weekend.

"I feel good," he said. "The toughest part was more ​the mental battle. People always think it's the injury itself, but you know you're always going to heal. "The hardest part ⁠is not knowing which game you're going to be back for. But I have good support from the coaching staff."

The Springboks' video analysis sessions would have been ⁠a ​tough watch this week as they wasted numerous entries into the New Zealand 22 and ended up conceding five tries to one at Ellis Park. Kolisi maintains the game was closer than that. "If we create as much as we did last week … ⁠we just need to take those chances. That was the biggest factor last week. The All Blacks took theirs. We had ⁠so much dominance in the first ⁠half but did not have much to show for it," he said.

The Springboks made two late changes to their side on Friday as Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu replaced the injured Handre Pollard and Cheslin ‌Kolbe was declared fit ‌to play and replaced Kurt-Lee Arendse on the wing.