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Boks' smoking pack: Siya completes the circle

Cape Town - You can safely tick that last box now.

The return to the cusp of his A-game - at a perfect bend in the road - of captain Siya Kolisi in the openside flank berth means the Springboks can boast a pack now firing consummately on all cylinders.

It is a unit which, if studied in isolation, gives Rassie Erasmus's charges a very tantalising chance indeed of dominating proceedings sufficiently for some 160 further minutes at the World Cup to lift the Webb Ellis Cup for the first time since 2007, and third time overall.

The unapologetically conservative nature of the Bok game-plan - characterised by Faf de Klerk’s much-debated, near-constant monopoly of the tactical play with his box kicks - is unlikely to change profoundly for either Sunday's semi-final against Wales at Yokohama (11:00 SA time) or onward to a possible final against either of New Zealand or England.

It is an acknowledgement, in many respects, of the Springboks’ inherent comfort with letting their foes have the ball to a generous extent and coaxing them to run it back to them, relying on their increasingly leakproof, supremely aggressive defensive systems to force them into demoralising (and just as often bruise-inflicting) cul-de-sacs.

The Boks’ eager physicality across the park - but especially apparent among their brawny, well-conditioned forwards - comes into the picture to an increasing extent in that scenario, with any opportunities for set-piece dominance only adding to the intended slow poison.

Under Erasmus’s tutelage, almost all of the Bok players have become effective at both quickly identifying and then executing turnovers, but Kolisi, in his mainline position in that regard, recapturing his premier open-play vitality in time for the knockout rounds amounts to a bit of a cherry on top.

He has now had two suitably strong showings as a Bok starter in the space of 12 days, considering that he was one of only two current “first-teamers” - the other Damian de Allende - to also have had a full outing against minnows Canada (the 66-7 victory to close the pool phase) ahead of Sunday’s safely negotiated quarter-final against Japan.

Indeed, Kolisi has begun three games in 16 days if you add in the earlier Italy match (49-3) where Erasmus fielded his premier troops.

If that seems reasonably demanding, it needs to be seen in the context of the popular 28-year-old’s previously quite painstaking - you could even venture precarious? - comeback from a knee injury.

It took the skipper some time to rekindle confidence and become noticeably assertive in the early weeks of his international-level restoration; he was strictly moderate by his normally effervescent standards against all of Japan (immediately pre-World Cup, in Saitama), New Zealand and then the Italians.

But his cranked-up volume of game-time has seemingly reaped solid benefits more recently, and it culminated in Kolisi arguably being among the top two Bok pack members - alongside lock Lood de Jager, on my Bok ratings - against the Brave Blossoms.

He had a tackle count in double figures, looked more mobile and stamina-laden than at any prior point in the tournament, and his leg drive was becoming more influential again, into the bargain.

Although some eyebrows were raised when Kolisi was the player to be sacrificed for a few minutes during Tendai Mtawarira’s spell in the sin bin for a spear tackle, it allowed him to end the match with good reserves of energy and the move may also not have been unrelated to awareness of his considerable match time already in the lead-up to the last-eight stage.

Kolisi’s increased level of yeoman graft at close quarters just needs to be accompanied now by some of those trademark, deceptively nippy raids or link-ups in wide positions for realisation that the Zwide-born competitor is back as a “complete” loose forward factor at the perfect time.

Remember also that the Boks have a guaranteed two further matches at RWC 2019 from here, so the second - whether the final or bronze playoff - would fittingly signal his 50th Test cap.

Those planets are realigning nicely for Siyamthanda Kolisi to become a hugely poignant figure on South Africa’s sporting tapestry.

*Follow our chief writer on Twitter: @RobHouwing

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Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
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Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
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