By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Caption: Siya Kolisi at the renaming of the main rugby field at Grey High. Picture: @FromTheSideLin4 / Twitter.
The main rugby field at Grey High School in Gqeberha will now be known as “The Kolisi Field”, named after famous old boy Siya Kolisi.
Kolisi attended the ceremony to commemorate the occasion and watched the first game on the turf named after him between his alma mater and Queen’s College.
“I’m so humbled by what’s happening today. It’s something that in my wildest dreams, I would have never dreamed of. I think coming to Grey alone was a big thing for me.”
Kolisi grew up playing rugby in the township where the field was sparsely covered in dry, brown grass and thorns. He admitted being astonished when he was tackled on the lush grass of his new school. He brought up the circumstances of his childhood and mentioned how he never knew where his next meal would come from until he showed up at the school’s hostel.
He traced his first days at the school and was reminded of the time he arrived on the grounds and neither he nor his mother could speak English. He said the heights he has reached and the accolades he has collected are a testament of hard work – an ethic he learned from his tough childhood in poverty.
“Without the people in this community, I don’t think I would have made it through life. As much as we struggle, we are hard-working people who just need an opportunity. I’m so grateful to stand here today [because] that opportunity came to me, and I took it with both hands… I’m so grateful for a school like this who accepted a young boy who had the smallest of dreams.”
A special day at Grey High School as the main rugby field is named after Springbok captain Siya Kolisi, ahead of their victory over Queen’s College.@ss_schools pic.twitter.com/dtI2aq9xiK
— SuperSport ? (@SuperSportTV) May 14, 2022
He thanked the school for the honour and the greater Grey community for the role they played in his success.
Kolisi is now a key member of the Sharks in Durban. He has played 63 Tests for the Springboks and is set to lead the national side once again when Wales visit South Africa for three Tests in July.
In 2018 he was picked by SA Rugby’s director of rugby Rassie Erasmus to be Springbok captain. A year later Kolisi led the Boks to the Rugby World Cup title. He also captained the side to a 2-1 series win against the British and Irish Lions.