Rassie Erasmus has plenty of great Springboks in his South Africa squad but there is just one individual he describes as “once-in-a-lifetime”. It’s not Siya Kolisi, his double World Cup-winning captain. Nor Eben Etzebeth, the most capped Test player in his country’s history, either.
No, Erasmus reserves the highest of praise for a man a foot shorter and 50kg lighter than some of his teammates. In just 38 caps for his country, Cheslin Kolbe has become one of the Springboks’ most crucial cogs, a comic book creation with flashing feet, rhinoceros beetle strength and a tool belt befitting of South Africa’s ultimate utility figure.
