Siya Kolisi - Against All Odds (Paperback)


When Siya Kolisi leads the Springboks out onto the field at the Rugby World Cup in September 2019, it will be the crowning glory of an incredible journey that began on the impoverished streets of Zwide, a township outside Port Elizabeth. As the first black South African to captain a Springbok rugby team, Kolisi’s remarkable story is unique and deserves to be heard.

His mother was a teenager when he was born. She left him in the care of his grandmother who brought him up until she died (in his arms) when Siya was twelve. He found love and acceptance playing junior rugby with the African Bombers club until his talent was spotted by the prestigious Grey High School who offered Siya a full scholarship that changed his life. He adapted well to the posh private school, but it was on the rugby field where he excelled. Siya was rewarded with a call-up the SA schools team and a contract to join the Western Province rugby union.

Author Jeremy Daniel tracks Siya’s journey from running wild on the streets of Zwide, through some crucial games in high school, into the Western Province rugby set-up and his fight to become Springbok captain. He goes deep inside the systems that identify junior talent, the characters who shaped his journey and the moments where he showed who he really was. Siya never forgot where he came from, and ultimately adopted his mother’s other two children after she died when he was in high school.

His life has not been without controversy, and his marriage to a fiery young white woman was a lightning rod for racial politics. But he is a shining beacon of hope for South Africa, he is massively popular and there is a huge appetite from the public to know about his life and to support him as Springbok captain.


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Product Description

When Siya Kolisi leads the Springboks out onto the field at the Rugby World Cup in September 2019, it will be the crowning glory of an incredible journey that began on the impoverished streets of Zwide, a township outside Port Elizabeth. As the first black South African to captain a Springbok rugby team, Kolisi’s remarkable story is unique and deserves to be heard.

His mother was a teenager when he was born. She left him in the care of his grandmother who brought him up until she died (in his arms) when Siya was twelve. He found love and acceptance playing junior rugby with the African Bombers club until his talent was spotted by the prestigious Grey High School who offered Siya a full scholarship that changed his life. He adapted well to the posh private school, but it was on the rugby field where he excelled. Siya was rewarded with a call-up the SA schools team and a contract to join the Western Province rugby union.

Author Jeremy Daniel tracks Siya’s journey from running wild on the streets of Zwide, through some crucial games in high school, into the Western Province rugby set-up and his fight to become Springbok captain. He goes deep inside the systems that identify junior talent, the characters who shaped his journey and the moments where he showed who he really was. Siya never forgot where he came from, and ultimately adopted his mother’s other two children after she died when he was in high school.

His life has not been without controversy, and his marriage to a fiery young white woman was a lightning rod for racial politics. But he is a shining beacon of hope for South Africa, he is massively popular and there is a huge appetite from the public to know about his life and to support him as Springbok captain.

Customer Reviews

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Reviews

Some people are born to greatness, Siya Kolisi is one such man. I love rugby and I especially love the World Cup series and also the Six Nations. This year, the World Cup took on a far more special meaning for me as I watched the South African Springboks being led onto the field by Siya Kolisi. Who would ever have dreamt that such an event could take place in a country where rugby was the game of the white, often only Afrikaans players? Yes, of course, it was played by white English-speaking people, but somehow over the years, they were the minority in the Springboks. Now, rugby is the Rainbow Nation’s game. People of colour, language and different backgrounds emerged in 2019 as the best team in the world led by their captain, Siya Kolisi, who thanks to someone spotting this young underfed, little boy playing with a passion seldom seen, while living in a poverty-stricken township on the outskirts of Port Elizabeth. Jeremy Daniel has written one of the best biographies I’ve ever read by relating Siya’s rise from living with his grandmother, often going to bed starving, rising to the heights of not only the Springboks captain but a truly brilliant rugby player as well. I was glued to this book which takes the reader from his early days to attending boarding school first at Grey Junior School, then High School (thanks to a scholarship) and his drive to create a future for himself, via the rugby field. What we learn from this book is that Siya Kolisi is genuinely a man who was born to lead, to succeed against all the obstructions put in his path, reach a position which very few people on earth get to – leading a team of rugby players to win the biggest competition in the sport – the World Cup. His story will become a legend and will be told to future generations as one of the most astonishing achievements in South Africa’s rugby history. The Springboks win against England united a nation so fractured by corruption and crime to see their country achieve something no one dreamt of – winning the world cup. Siya Kolisi is truly a man in a million – born to succeed against all odds. Treebeard Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.

Product Details

General

Imprint

Jonathan Ball Publishers SA

Country of origin

South Africa

Release date

August 2019

Availability

Readers Warehouse out of stock. If you add this item to your wish list we will let you know when it becomes available.

Authors

Dimensions

233 x 152 x 18mm (L x W x T)

Format

Paperback - Trade

Pages

250

ISBN-13

978-1-86842-982-0

Barcode

9781868429820

Categories

LSN

1-86842-982-2



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