South Africa's flanker and captain Siya Kolisi arrives for a training session at the Mayol Stadium in Toulon, southern France Together in the media, both social and news, Siya (pictured) and Rachel Kolisi appeared to be living an incredible life together.
Image: Clement Mahoudeau/AFP
It’s almost universally agreed that Siya and Rachel Kolisi were the perfect celebrity couple before they decided to end their marriage, and that the Springboks skipper is indeed a mountain among men.
Kolisi as the leader of the Springboks is about as prominent as a sporting hero gets in South Africa.
Together in the media, both social and news, the Kolisi family appeared to be living an incredible life together.
In every interview Kolisi does, he is a the consummate professional - thoughtful, engaging and honest. It’s difficult to think of any occasion when Siya has not said the right thing.
But all that is in the public eye. The general public are not privy to the true private lives of celebrities like the Kolisi family.
The best example of this, is the injury Siya suffered last year just months out from the Rugby World Cup.
Here was the first black Springbok captain to have led his team to the Rugby World Cup title (in 2019), and suddenly it was doubtful whether or not he’d be fit enough to help his side defend their crown.
Siya picked up a serious knee injury in April last year, which required surgery. He did not play for the Springboks again until the World Cup, where he would play a pivotal role in South Africa winning the Webb Ellis trophy for a fourth time in October.
What the public would not have seen were the dark times after Siya first picked up the injury, and then the race against time to recover from the injury and then regain his fitness after the surgery.
As any sports person knows, there’s nothing worse (in sporting terms) than not being able to play because of an injury. The public has never seen a tired, irritable and generally grumpy Siya - but Rachel would have. Though Siya’s efforts on the rugby pitch are both inspirational and superhuman - the man himself is still human.
Siya’s injury, and timing of it, may have seriously changed the dynamic of his relationship with Rachel. The public will likely never know though the strain Siya’s injury put on their relationship, nor are they entitled to know such intimate details about their relationship.
But it’s undeniable, Siya would have faced many dark days and what we see in the news and social media will never represent the whole truth, as the Kolisi image is a carefully constructed one.
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