Cheslin Kolbe was a surprise omission from the Springbok squad for the Rugby Championship on Saturday, but he wouldn’t want to be anywhere else than in Rio with the Blitzboks, hunting an Olympic gold medal.
The 22-year-old Kolbe gave up the Stormers’ Super Rugby campaign and a possible call-up to the Boks for the June series against Ireland to concentrate fully on the Springbok Sevens team and the Rio Olympics.
Now, on the eve of the Rugby Sevens tournament that starts on Tuesday at the Deodoro Stadium, Kolbe and the rest of the Blitzbok squad will be eagerly anticipating their opener against Spain at 4.30pm SA time, which is followed by France at 9.30pm.
The final Group B clash is against Australia on Wednesday at 4.30pm SA time, with the quarter-finals later the same day and the medal deciders on Thursday.
The Stormers missed Kolbe dearly in their Super Rugby quarter-final defeat to the Chiefs at Newlands on July 23, but the classy fullback – who is a cousin of 400m world champion Wayde van Niekerk – believes that he made the right decision to be part of the Blitzbok squad.
Lions captain Warren Whiteley was faced with a similarly agonising call as he would’ve also been a shoo-in for the Olympic squad, but the No 8 opted to stay in Super Rugby and made it all the way to the final against the Hurricanes at the weekend.
“I think where I am right now, I’m quite happy. It’s not a setback for me – it’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, to represent your country at an Olympics. It’s not everybody who gets that opportunity, and for us going to the Olympics, we are fortunate enough,” Kolbe told Independent Media.
“There are a lot of other guys out there who could’ve been where we are now, so I think every guy understands his role in representing our country, and making ourselves and the nation proud.”
Stormers captain Juan de Jongh also chose to play in the shorter format and have a crack at winning an Olympic gold medal, and recently said that the Rio Games was something he “really want to experience as it’s unique”, and that it was arguably his last chance as he is 28 years old.
Of course, De Jongh did make the Springbok squad for the Rugby Championship, unlike Kolbe, but won’t be thinking about Test rugby over the next few days in Rio.
The Spanish outfit sent shockwaves through the sevens world when they won the final qualifying tournament ahead of the powerful Samoan team, so they won’t be total pushovers for the Blitzboks on Tuesday.
And while France aren’t a really strong sevens nation, they can cause an upset on their day – like in the 15-man code – while Australia finished fourth on the overall standings in the last World Sevens Series season.
Kolbe, though, feels that the South Africans have done everything possible to be ready for the big moment, where they will be real contenders for the gold medal alongside Fiji and New Zealand. “There was a lot of hard work that was put into the preparation for the Rio Olympics and representing South Africa. I think the guys did quite well in this pre-season, putting all the effort in, taking every step and taking as much in for the Rio Olympics,” he said.
“There is always room for improvement and things that you can work on – it’s not a perfect game… There will always be mistakes and stuff, so you always have to go the extra mile.
“I think if you are mentally and physically prepared, just to be confident within the structures, within the squad… Just to play for one another (could give the Blitzboks the edge). I think that’s the most important thing, to get energy from each other and drive that on to the pitch.”
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