In the lead-up to the all-important second Test between the Springboks and British & Irish Lions, Siya Kolisi faced what was self-admittedly his most challenging week as a captain.
For a player who has had to deal with the responsibility of becoming South Africa’s first black Test captain, and leading the team during several high-intensity Test weeks on the way to World Cup glory in 2019, such an admission was telling.
Yet, it also wasn’t all that surprising in the context of what Kolisi had to contend with during, and after, the first Test, which sparked an off-field controversy that reverberated through the rugby establishment.
After the Boks’ opening defeat, South Africa’s director of rugby Rassie Erasmus took to social media, and then fronted up at a media conference, to…