Cape Town – Siya Kolisi has revealed that all he ever wanted to be was a Springbok and that being the captain of the national side is a honourable bonus.

Kolisi was speaking to the media ahead of South Africa’s 2019 Rugby World Cup warm-up match against the hosts, Japan in Kumagaya.

The 28-year-old spoke passionately about his Springbok journey and how he never would’ve dreamed of becoming captain.

“I am very grateful to be the Springbok captain and it is not something that I would have thought of in my wildest dreams,” said Kolisi.

“It really makes me happy to know that a person from my background or from the background of anybody else in South Africa or a different walk of life, could be sitting here.

“The most important thing for me was just be to a Springbok – because there have not been many of them. To become captain was something extra that I never dreamed of. I am just honoured to be here and I just want to show that I can do the job by the hard I work I do on and off the field and the manner I carry myself.”

Friday’s clash will see Kolisi back to captain the Boks for the first time since last year.

The Boks kick off their World Cup campaign against the All Blacks on September 21 in Yokohama. 

Kick-off on Friday is at 12:15 SA time.

Teams:

Japan

15 William Tupou, 14 Kotaro Matsushima, 13 Timothy Lafaele, 12 Ryoto Nakamura, 11 Kenki Fukuoka, 10 Yu Tamura, 9 Kaito Shigeno, 8 Amanaki Mafi, 7 Pieter Labuschagne, 6 Michael Leitch (captain), 5 Uwe Helu, 4 Luke Thompson, 3 Koo Ji-won, 2 Atsushi Sakate, 1 Keita Inagaki

Substitutes: 16 Takuya Kitade, 17 Isileli Nakajima, 18 Asaeli Ai Valu, 19 James Moore, 20 Yoshitaka Tokunaga, 21 Yutaka Nagare, 22 Rikiya Matsuda, 23 Ataata Moeakiola

South Africa

15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Lukhanyo Am, 12 Damian de Allende, 11 Makazole Mapimpi, 10 Handré Pollard, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Duane Vermeulen, 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit, 6 Siya Kolisi (captain), 5 Franco Mostert, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Steven Kitshoff

Substitutes: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Tendai Mtawarira, 18 Trevor Nyakane, 19 RG Snyman, 20 Francois Louw, 21 Herschel Jantjies, 22 Frans Steyn, 23 Jesse Kriel

Compiled by: Lynn Butler