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The Citizen
a day ago
- Sport
- The Citizen
‘In good shape': Stick says Kolisi on track for 2027 World Cup
The Springbok assistant coach said it was unfair to select a player based on their age, and Siya Kolisi is one of the fittest in the team. Siya Kolisi returned to action at the weekend against Georgia after an injury layoff of a few weeks. Picture: Dirk Kotze/Gallo Images Springbok assistant coach Mzwandile Stick said age would never count against a player, and that seasoned captain Siya Kolisi would be selected for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia if he maintains his fitness and skill set. Stick said Kolisi, who is 34 but will be 36 by the time of the World Cup, is still one of the fittest players in the squad despite his age. Kolisi, for his part, said he is feeling good physically and described the World Cup as the 'end goal'. He said head coach Rassie Erasmus' rotational policy, as well as the team's conditional coaches and medical teams, made this feel like an achievable feat. 'That is the end goal' 'I feel good, my body feels good. It's all about how it goes. I must take it year by year and game by game,' said Kolisi, who now has 93 Test caps. 'That is the end goal. I still want to be there and coach Rassie said you can be 36, but if you are the fittest 36-year-old, that is all you need. I don't need to be the fittest out of everyone. It's all about what I can do and produce on the field. If I still feel as good as I feel today, I think I will be there.' Stick said it would be unfair of coaches to force players to retire due to their age. 'Siya is in good shape,' the coach said. He referred to hooker Schalk Brits, who played in the 2019 World Cup at the age of 38, and No 8 Duane Vermeulen, who was 37 at the 2023 Rugby World. Likewise, Deon Fourie was the oldest player to make his Springbok debut, at 36. He was 37 when he played in the 2023 World Cup. 'They were still producing what we needed from them,' Stick said. Kolisi one of the fittest Springboks in the squad 'We were surprised because when we started this year with the camps in Joburg, we started with the heavy fitness test. Siya had one of the good scores. 'To us, age doesn't really matter that much. The more they produce, and they can keep up with our programme and how we train, even if you get to the age of 38 or 40 we will still select you. 'It will be unfair to think that way of looking at the age of the players. We don't have the right to do so. If he can still produce, we probably will select him.'
The South African
2 days ago
- Sport
- The South African
The Springboks' Test record against Georgia
The Springboks hosted Italy and Georgia in their three Incoming Series matches in July - and predictably came away with a clean sweep. Image: SA Rugby World champions South Africa hosted Italy and Georgia in their three Incoming Series matches in July – and predictably came away with a clean sweep. The Springboks played Italy a two-Test series with matches played in Pretoria and Gqeberha, while the one-off match against Georgia took place in Mbombela. At the time of publishing, the Springboks sit at No 1 in the World Rugby rankings, with Italy in 10th and Georgia in 11th. South Africa have now beaten Italy 17 times and lost once in their 18 Tests to date since first meeting in Rome in 1995, the year the Springboks won the first of a record four Rugby World Cup titles. Date Result Venue 12 November 1995 Won 40-21 Olympic Stadium, Rome 8 November 1997 Won 62-31 Dall'Ara Stadium, Bologna 12 June 1999 Won 74-3 Boet Erasmus, Port Elizabeth 19 June 1999 Won 101-0 Kings Park, Durban 30 June 2001 Won 60-14 Boet Erasmus, Port Elizabeth 17 November 2001 Won 54-26 Luigi Ferraris Stadium, Genoa 21 June 2008 Won 26-0 Newlands, Cape Town 21 November 2009 Won 32-10 Stadio Friuli, Udine 19 June 2010 Won 29-13 Puma Stadium, Witbank 26 June 2010 Won 55-11 Basil Kenyon Stadium, East London 8 June 2013 Won 44-10 Kings Park, Durban 22 November 2014 Won 22-6 Stadio Euganeo, Padua 19 November 2016 Lost 20-18 Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence 25 November 2017 Won 35-6 Stadio Euganeo, Padua 4 October 2019 Won 49-3 Shizuoka Stadium, Fukuroi 19 November 2022 Won 63-21 Luigi Ferraris Stadium, Genoa 5 July 2025 Won 42-24 Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria 12 July 2025 Won 45-0 Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium, Gqeberha Meanwhile, South Africa boast an unbeaten 3-0 record against Georgia. The first win came at the 2003 Rugby World Cup, while their only previous visit to South Africa resulted in defeat in Pretoria in 2021. Date Result Venue 24 October 2003 Won 46-19 Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney 2 July 2021 Won 40-9 Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria 19 July 2025 Won 55-10 Mbombela Stadium, Mbombela Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 021 1 Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
Irish Daily Mirror
01-07-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Denis Leamy's finest hour, well 30 seconds, was against Georgia - One F in Foley
Denis Leamy, from way back in 2007, gets a free pass when it comes to playing rugby internationals against back-row had always been the bravest of the brave, his in-game ferocity only matched his intense desire to intervention in Bordeaux at the 2007 Rugby World should be ranked with the great Irish individual contributions to a team, along with Packie Bonner's penalty save at Italia 90 and Christy O'Connor's 1989 Ryder Cup 2-iron to four feet at the the time Ireland were hanging on to a precarious 14-10 lead in a match where Georgia had 60 percent of the possession and 70 percent of the defending their own line in the 78th minute finally caved under immense pressure. Georgia had crossed the Irish line and were celebrating Barnes, a referee who has taken more than his fair share of abuse for the way he has handled Ireland over the years (and he certainly didn't like the way Andrew Porter scrummaged) was unsure and went upstairs to the Argentinian TMO to call did. No try. Leamy had got a hand between the ball and the turf. Relief all round. But it was something which would be forgotten all too quickly because Ireland were sailing Titanic-like towards a massive defeats to France and Argentina would mean the Eddie O'Sullivan-coached side did not make it past the pool stages; that 2007 squad remains the only Ireland side not to have emerged from the pool stages of a Rugby World intervention was consigned to history, his being the sporting equivalent of able seamen Frederick Fleet and Reginald Lee. They spotted the iceberg and rang the bridge 'Iceberg, right ahead!' but it didn't save the doomed is traveling to Georgia and Portugal on the Ireland summer tour as assistant coach to Paul O'Connell's Head Coach role - and enjoying being reunited with his Munster 2006 and 2008 Heineken Cup winning colleague."Yeah, it's very exciting to be working with Paul again. He's carved out a hugely successful coaching career so to come in and work with him, he's been very good to us."He's given us clear guidelines in terms of what he wants from us as coaches coming in from the provinces and playing the Irish way and implementing that gameplan.'So, he's given us clear guidelines and he's been very helpful in just challenging us but also creating a very good atmosphere to work in.'"Paul's a natural leader, he's a brilliant leader. His presence alone is a great starting point. Look, he understand the game inside out, he has great knowledge and his way of imparting that knowledge with the players is hugely impressive.'It is a tour with challenges for Ireland as, for instance, they look to cope with having 16 players away on Lions are a further three significant players Caelan Doris, Robbie Henshaw and Will Connors unavailable through injury. While, don't forget, there are another three Peter O'Mahony, Conor Murray and Cian Healy retiring with 376 caps between them - leaving casual observers wondering just who is traveling!The shorthand answer is Six Nations stars Stuart McCloskey, Jimmy O'Brien, Jamie Osborne, Jacob Stockdale, Sam Prendergast, Jack Crowley, Ciaran Frawley and Craig Casey across the with players such as Jack Boyle, Gus McCarthy, Thomas Clarkson, Ryan Baird, Cormac Izuchukwu, Cian Prendergast and Nick Timoney in the nonetheless, suggest the matchday unit could have a smattering of the 13 potential debutants being brought on the tour to play Georgia and Lelos are currently world-ranked no11, a spot attained last February and it is the fourth time in their history to have been this high alongside spells in 2016, 2019, 2025 and from where they have a chance to make the top 10 for the first time if they can beat that's an incentive, and Ireland may find themselves in need of a hand-of-Leamy or two this the overarching feeling is that the squad is a bit light on second-rows with a general sense of relief that Tom Ahern has shaken off a tight hamstring and made the if the Munsterman is to be used as a no6 it frees up players such as Baird, Izuchukwu and Cian Prendergast for second-row Leamy: 'Yeah, Tom is fit and he's ready to go, he has progressed hugely over the last couple of years and he's put in some excellent performances for Munster so he's a guy we have high hopes for and absolutely, hopefully, he'll get game time and do really well. He's such a promising player, I've no doubt he can do that.'"Look, all the guys have kind of been mix and match in training, so all the guys have kind of jumped in and out in those (second/back-row) positions."The game is ever-changing and the type of second-row is changing and you see the likes of Tom and Izzy, Ryan Baird, these guys are such athletic specimens and they cover the ground so well, but that's what the game demands at the moment.'Leamy wouldn't be human if the sight of the Georgia jersey didn't bring back memories of he wouldn't have been doing his job correctly if he were to equate the then novice outfit replete with mostly amateur backs to the current squad which has 18 players playing professionally in France and which includes sensational Lyon full-back David Niniashvili 'They're a very experienced Georgian team, a lot of them have played in World Cups. A huge amount of them play in the Top 14 so they're well accustomed to big games, being in tough environments."So it's a really good challenge for a young team and to go to Tbilisi, into a bit of a bearpit, it's going to be physical, it's going to be hot, it's everything we want to expose our young players to.'Ireland Men's Squad – Summer Tour 2025Player/Club/Province/CapsBacks (14): Shayne Bolton (Connacht)*, Craig Casey (Shannon/Munster)(captain)(18), Jack Crowley (Cork Constitution/Munster)(24), Nathan Doak (Banbridge/Ulster)*, Ciaran Frawley (UCD/Leinster)(8), Hugh Gavin (Galwegians/Connacht)*, Stuart McCloskey (Bangor/Ulster)(19), Ben Murphy (Clontarf/Connacht)*, Dermot Kilgallon (Munster)*, Jimmy O'Brien (Naas/Leinster)(8), Tommy O'Brien (UCD/Leinster)*, Jamie Osborne (Naas/Leinster)(7), Sam Prendergast (Lansdowne/Leinster)(8), Jacob Stockdale (Lurgan/Ulster)(38) Forwards (18): Tom Ahern (Shannon/Munster)*, Jack Aungier (Lansdowne/Connacht)*, Ryan Baird (Dublin University/Leinster)(27), Jack Boyle (UCD/Leinster)(2), Thomas Clarkson (Dublin University/Leinster)(6), Gavin Coombes (Young Munster/Munster)(2), Max Deegan (Lansdowne/Leinster)(2), Cormac Izuchukwu (Ballynahinch/Ulster)(1), Alex Kendellen (UCC/Munster)*, Gus McCarthy (UCD/Leinster)(4), Paddy McCarthy (Dublin University/Leinster)*, Michael Milne (UCD/Munster)*, Darragh Murray (Buccaneers/Connacht)*, Tom O'Toole (Ballynahinch/Ulster)(16), Cian Prendergast (UCD/Connacht)(4), Stephen Smyth (Old Wesley/Leinster)*, Tom Stewart (Ballynahinch/Ulster)(2), Nick Timoney (Banbridge/Ulster)(3), Scott Wilson (Queens University/Ulster)* *denotes uncapped IRELAND SUMMER TOUR SCHEDULESaturday, 5th July: Georgia v Ireland, Mikheil Meskhi Stadium, Tbilisi (kick off 9pm local time, 6pm Irish time);Saturday, 12th July: Portugal v Ireland, Estádio Nacional do Jamor, Lisbon (kick off 7pm local, same Irish time)Ireland Men's Squad – Summer Tour 2025, departing for Tbilisi on Wednesday, 2nd July.
