South Africa seek 2-1 series advantage against All Blacks at historic FNB Stadium

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi says South Africa will draw extra inspiration from Soweto when they face the All Blacks at FNB Stadium on Saturday in the decisive third match of the Greatest Rivalry series.

South Africa must win to take a 2-1 lead before flying out of the country only hours after the match. The fixture is also their final game on home soil this year, adding further significance for Kolisi and assistant coach Mzwandile Stick.

FNB Stadium is located close to Soweto, an area that played a central role in shaping modern South Africa. Kolisi says the venue and its surroundings will provide the Springboks with an additional reason to produce their best performance.

“So many things that happened in Soweto helped shape the South Africa we have today,” said Kolisi.

“So many heroes have come from there, and a lot of the football history of this country is from Soweto, so we know how special that is.

“We’re not going to act like it’s not a special ground in a significant area. All of that gives us more to play for. We are also thankful for the people who came from there and fought for people like me and Stick to be sitting here today.

“They fought for the freedom we have now and never got to experience it, and giving our best tomorrow is part of us saying thank you. Hopefully we can do that with a win and change the history between the two teams there.”

South Africa lost the opening Test, but responded by drawing strong support from home crowds. Kolisi said the backing of supporters had been evident both inside the stadium and along the team’s route to matches.

The Springboks captain believes Saturday’s result could become a lasting memory for people across the country, and wants the players to repay the support they have received through their performance rather than words alone.

“Obviously what we’d like to achieve is to win. We’d like to say thank you to the people of South Africa.

“It hasn’t always been easy. We didn’t win the first Test, but the numbers that showed up at the stadium and the vibe was fantastic, and we felt it and saw it. Even the people who can’t come to the stadium, see us while we are driving on the bus to ground and get up and scream, which has been very special.

“This is the memory the people of South Africa will remember, and hopefully we can give them a good one because we want to say thank you, not just in words but through our efforts tomorrow.”

Stick said the match represented an opportunity for the current Springbok squad to establish its own place in South African sporting history.

He acknowledged that FNB Stadium is primarily associated with football, but said the gathering of supporters from across the country in Soweto made the occasion particularly powerful. He added that watching preparations for the match while travelling past tents near the stadium had reinforced the scale of the event.

“Personally, I see this game as an opportunity for the players to create their own history. Every stadium in South Africa has its own unique history and we try to protect that. Ellis Park and the DHL Stadium are two of them, and now we are playing at the FNB Stadium.

“It’s a football stadium, but can you imagine getting South Africans from all around the country together in Soweto. Driving past the tents and seeing how they are preparing for the game is something else.

“For the guys playing now, almost none of them have played there before, so it’s an opportunity to create their own history, and that excites me.”