CAPE TOWN - Cheslin Kolbe has always had to fight off the critics throughout his career, but all the struggles were worth it when he reached the top of the game by scoring a try in the Rugby World Cup final last November.
And reflecting on that glorious Saturday night in Yokohama on Monday – a year to the day when the Springboks beat England 32-12 to claim the Webb Ellis Cup for the third time – Kolbe remembered the tough times.
Seeing him dance around England captain Owen Farrell to secure the victory would’ve been a moment of vindication for the 27-year-old, who Nick Mallett once said should move to scrumhalf if he hopes to play Test rugby.
He was considered too small for the Boks by Allister Coetzee, who had been his previous coach at the Stormers, and he made the move to Toulouse in France for a fresh start.
But one man who didn’t forget about him was Rassie Erasmus, and when he became the Bok coach in 2018, he called up Kolbe, who scored his first try against the All Blacks in that famous 36-34 triumph in Wellington. The rest, as they say, is history…
“1 year ago my childhood dream realised. You see, you all know I was always criticised for being too small for rugby. I could’ve chosen the easy way out and believed all the doubt thrown at me. But there was always that fire burning inside me, that HOPE. The hope of just pulling the green and gold jersey over my head as ridiculous as it may have seemed. Just once!” Kolbe said in a post on his social media accounts on Monday.
“Not only did I persevere through all of the doubt, crit, lack of privilege, poverty, I also went on to be a part of one of the greatest Springbok stories in History. We won the Rugby Championship, they told us no one has ever won that and the RWC in the same year.
“We lost our first RWC game they told us no one has ever won the world cup by losing a pool game. I got injured during the world cup, doubt thrown at me again. That small boy from Scottsville went on to score in the Rugby world cup final. They told me I couldn’t. They told US we couldn’t, but WE did.”
Kolbe’s father Andrew shed a tear during the M-Net documentary Chasing The Sun on Sunday night, as he remembered how his son had been called a “dwergie” (dwarf) and told he was too small to play rugby, but that Cheslin said: “Dada, I will become a Springbok.”
Accompanied by pictures of him posing with the Webb Ellis Cup, beating Farrell and with his wife Layla and daughter Kylah, Kolbe said that the World Cup success was about more than just winning a rugby tournament.
“Any country was probably better off to win it. SOUTH AFRICA is still going through a tough time, But this one moment, this victory brought the most unbelievable “gees” and Unity to our nation,” he said.
“It didn’t fix South Africa, but it brought a massive shift. And that is a story of Hope. A story to everyone that no matter what it CAN be done. EVEN with ALL our differences, with all our backgrounds, with all our setbacks, it was done through Unity!!!
“Honoured to be a part of this brotherhood. Forever grateful that Coach Rassie saw that potential in that little boy from Scottsville, with absolutely no means of making it to the top, but because of a little bit of Hope and of course all by the grace of God.
“I still get goosebumps, I still cry. I still have hope, for you and for me! It is possible.”
@ashfakmohamed
IOL Sport