Proteas limited-overs captain Temba Bavuma will druk op Springbok counterpart Siya Kolisi se nommer soon, but doesn’t want to have an information overload ahead of his first World Cup as a player and as a captain.
The Proteas party, including 11 players along with the management, departed for Dubai yesterday, where they will spend six days in quarantine before being allowed out for training.
They will be joined at different stages by the seven players, who are currently playing in the IPL.
Bavuma’s relationship with Kolisi goes beyond the personal – they are represented by the Roc Nation agency, and through that, Bavuma has spent time with Kolisi after he joined the Sharks rugby team.
He says of picking the Bok World Cup-winning captain’s brain: “I’ll touch base with him over the next couple of days when things have settled, especially on his side.”
Bavuma adds that the Proteas would draw inspiration from Kolisi and his teammates, saying: “There’s a lot of inspiration that we can draw from the Boks. As much as their performances in the Rugby Championships didn’t go how they would have wanted, but you always had that sense of belief that they could win at any time.
“The fight they have, the resilience they have shown over the years, is something that all sportsmen in South Africa admire. As the Proteas we bank on our resilience, but [fans] want us to do it on the big stage in the pressure moments.”
The Proteas open their World Cup campaign against Australia in Abu Dhabi on October 23.
Stuart Hess | [email protected]