BOK WATCH: Kolisi leads the way as World Cup winners light up Europe

There’s no stopping the current Springbok squad, as the members of the World Cup-winning team continue to show their class while on duty for their respective clubs.

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WORLD CUP WINNERS LIGHT UP EUROPE

In France, Springbok skipper Siya Kolisi finally made his on-field debut for Racing 92 in their crunch clash against La Rochelle in Paris. Kolisi didn’t get on the scoresheet, but played a big role in his team’s superb 32-10 triumph over La Rochelle.

He didn’t play the full 80 minutes, but Kolisi continued to work after he was subbed off. Various viral video clips showed a pumped up Kolisi engage with the crowd and also animatedly support his teammates from the sidelines.

Kolisi wasn’t the only Springbok who ended on the winning side on foreign soil this past weekend. Handre Pollard and Jasper Wiese were again the catalysts that set the Leicester Tigers on the winning path. While Wiese did a lot of hard graft up front, Pollard let his boot to the talking by contributing 18 points off the kicking tee in a 38-20 win for the Tigers.

However, it wasn’t all good news as several other Springboks found themselves on the wrong of their respective match results.

Steven Kitshoff’s Ulster debut in their United Rugby Championship ended in a 33-20 defeat against the Glasgow Warriors, while Jean Kleyn’s first game back for Munster also ended with an agonising 21-16 loss against arch rivals Leinster in the same cross-hemisphere competition.

Cobus Reinach started for Montpellier, but wasn’t at his most effective and was subbed off at half-time. He didn’t return with about nine minutes to go in the match, but he couldn’t help Montpellier snatch a late win as they went down 26-21.

And the last but not least, centre Andre Esterhuizen started for Harlequins in their action packed clash against Northampton Saints. Esterhuizen had a good game, but it wasn’t enough as Quins lost 36-33 to Northampton Saints. A video clip of Esterhuizen engaging in a physical altercation with England and Saints forward Courtney Lawes went viral, with many online commentating saying Lawes picked a fight with the Springbok because he still has sour grapes about what happened between the two teams at the World Cup.

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Handre Pollard steered the Leicester Tigers to a second consecutive win. Photo: @LeicesterTigers via X.