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Springbok captain Siya Kolisi and assistant coach Mzwandile Stick address reporters in Cape Town on 28 February 2023. (Photo by Grant Pitcher/Gallo Images)
- Siya Kolisi says rugby is getting faster and insist the Springboks can't rely on what they did in 2019 if they want to defend their World Cup title.
- Fourteen top Boks are currently in Cape Town for a three-week camp preparing for the 2023 Test season.
- Assistant coach Mzwandile Stick adds the aim of the camp is to get the players in "better shape and space".
The template that brought the Springboks Rugby World Cup success in Japan in 2019 will not suffice at the 2023 edition in France.
That was the message from national captain Siya Kolisi when he addressed reporters at the Cullinan Hotel in Cape Town on Tuesday.
Kolisi, and 13 other frontline Boks, are currently in the Mother City for a three-week "physical and rugby development" camp as they step up preparations for the defence of their world crown later this year.
Kolisi said a strong message from the coaching staff has been for the team to constantly evolve.
He said the players knew that simply doing what they did in 2019 would not reap rewards in 2023.
"We're growing and the nice thing about it is that the coaches have set the standard and said there's no way ways you can do what you did in 2019 and win now.
"The game has changed, the rules are changing the whole time, and the game is getting faster. So, we're working hard on our fitness," Kolisi said.
Kolisi said he was chuffed with the team's discipline in recent Tests, especially given the strict policing of the high tackle law.
"We're one of the teams that's conceded the least number of penalties. And we want to take it down even more.
"[The game] is being played at a much lower level, [and by that] I mean body height. And that's what we're working on. We're big men but you don't get a lot of us making tackles higher than they should be because we've worked so hard on our fundamentals to make sure that, whatever the rule is, we're already doing that."
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The Bok skipper also stressed that the tempo of Test rugby had gone up a notch in recent times.
"Fitness-wise ... we've always been good at that ... the game is getting faster, [but] they're preparing us right now.
"As you can see with the Six Nations, everything is being made much faster. So, we're preparing for that and, step by step, we'll get there."
The Boks will be in camp until 10 March.
"It's been great," Kolisi continued. "We've had a month off. I think that was good for us. Some of us have been playing since last year January until the end of January this year. That's something we've never done before.
"It's been good, but the training has been tough. But we've enjoyed it. We've looked at our goals from a year before and seen how far we've come.
"What's amazing about these camps is that the coaches are always finding something to work towards.
"It helps us when we go back to our unions ... there's always new rules that we get to learn ... it's good for us and it reminds [us] what it takes to get here and what an honour it is to get here because it's only a small group of us. [But] it's been tough and there's still a week and a half left."
Meanwhile, assistant coach Mzwandile Stick added that a big emphasis would be placed on fitness during the camp.
"The goal is to make sure that they're in better shape and better space, also when it comes to rugby.
"When they're going back to their franchises they're going into the playoffs. So, our main focus point will be on the fundamentals.
"This afternoon there's a nice beach conditioning session prepared. Next week we're going to move to Stellenbosch, and we know Stellenbosch at this time [of the year], it's going to be close to 40 degrees," Stick said.
The Springboks will play two Tests at home against Australia (Loftus Versfeld, 8 July) and Argentina (Ellis Park, 29 July) interspersed with away games against New Zealand (Auckland, 15 July) and Argentina (Buenos Aires, 5 August).
Their World Cup preparation will be wrapped up with games against Wales in Cardiff (19 August) and New Zealand in London (25 August) before heading south to France for their World Cup defence.
The World Cup runs from 8 September to 28 October.
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