South Africa captain Siya Kolisi admits not everyone enjoys his team’s kicking style but says beauty is in the eye of the beholder and their reasons for going to the boot are well thought out as they face Ireland in Dublin on Saturday.The Springboks use their forward pack to grind down opponents and kick for territory with the boot, which is likely to be a key feature again in their opening autumn international clash this weekend.
They have been criticised at various points over the last few years for what is perceived by some as a boring style, but World Cup winning skipper Kolisi is unrepentant and says to the Bok players, it is a "beautiful" way to play."People say we kick.
Well, we kick for a reason," he told reporters on Friday. "We kick to get ourselves into places so we can play rugby. The way we play, to us, we think it’s beautiful."We say rugby is a game for all shapes and sizes.
Our way is focused on the scrum and the maul, which is also beautiful in its own way."Ireland are very good with their set plays and they’re technical, so it’s going to be a good game to watch with two different plays."Another key area will be the breakdown, where the Boks have a number of players who can disrupt Ireland’s quick ball and stifle their backline. "Tadhg Beirne is very good at the breakdown.