Over the weekend the #SiyaKolisiDay hashtag spread across social media, and we’re completely fine with that.

After all, the Bok win over England on Saturday was a massive part of a pretty special weekend for South African sports fans.

We’ve been celebrating Siya Kolisi for a while now, and back in 2015 many readers mentioned onions being cut whilst they read about Siya’s journey to the top.

That story has been widely shared recently, but if you’re after a few stories from Siya’s schoolboy days then you’re in luck.

The Bok skipper attended Port Elizabeth’s prestigious Grey High School, and Derek Alberts’ story on LinkedIn has a few untold tales from his time as a student.

I’ve picked out a couple, starting with the words of Dean Carelse, then a rugby coach and teacher at Grey High:

“He was pretty confident when he arrived at Grey. Being in new surroundings, an unfamiliar hostel and a school with 162 years of tradition should have been daunting, but in true Siya character he took on the challenges in his normal open and confident way. He walked around with a smile on his face from the very beginning, and possessed a strong will that exhibited confidence and warmth”…

“From day one he was a formidable talent. Not so much the star player from a try-scoring perspective in his early years, but the backbone of every team he played for. His work rate, ball skills, defensive intelligence and pure understanding of the game was superb. He was a natural that could sum up situations during matches with ease. He was a pleasure to coach – always the first to arrive at practice and last to leave.”

There are numerous examples of how he never shirked from his responsibilities, but there’s something about this story below that hits the sweet spot:

The contrast between his old and new life could not have been greater, yet he decided to embrace the harsh realities of his upbringing, rather than escape them, returning home whenever possible in the face of adversity, as Carelse discovered when he would drop Kolisi off in the school’s vehicle on Saturdays after rugby games.

“Siya would receive scathing comments from community members when he got out of the car dressed in his school uniform. What was remarkable though is that he refused to change outfits, which would no doubt have put an end to the insults. It was this attitude that changed the perception of everyone in the area. He soon became a beacon of hope to those staying in Zwide, and I remember fondly how children used to run to him when we arrived during his first team years, and he would always take time to befriend them.”

Despite rising quickly through the ranks to become a first-team star, Kolisi was always popular with the younger pupils, treating them with respect.

Chad Momberg was in Grade 8 during Kolisi’s matric year, and remembers the man fondly:

“The matric guys were usually arrogant and the position of power they held often got to their heads, but Siya was different,” Momberg remembers. “He was always down to earth and treated everyone as an equal. He never looked down on a Grade 8 pupil and respected everyone, which in turn made us respect him even more, irrespective of what he did on the rugby field. He had a cult following amongst the Grade 8s and we were always keeping an eye on his achievements, whether it be for the first team, EP or SA schools.”

He wasn’t a complete saint, of course, because boys will be boys, and Nick Beswick, another former Grey first team player who was Kolisi’s “newpot” (servant/lackey) at school,  has a great story about Siya sneaking out for the night:

“He was an absolute legend and felt like a genuine friend, even though he was so much older than me. That said, I was petrified of him because of his size, and would’ve done anything he asked. One night he and his two roommates wanted to go out, which was against school rules, so he asked me to sleep in his bed and pretend to be him in case any of the hostel masters showed up. Sure enough, at around 2am one of the masters arrived armed with a torch. I buried my head beneath the duvet, like Siya usually did, and in my deepest voice shouted ‘We’re all here. Please leave!’ Thankfully the level of respect he commanded managed to transcend even his own body, and the hostel master quickly left.”

Superb.

A three-point win over England might not warrant nationwide celebration, but you’d be a fool for thinking that’s the only reason so many South Africans partied late into the night.

This match was different:

A feeling that is finally shared by so many.

You can read Alberts’ full story here.

[source:linkedin]