Siya Kolisi leads South Africa for the 60th time on Saturday, widely regarded as the most unifying presence in rugby union history.

But there is another, lesser-known reason he is so valued by the world champions which can be revealed today.

“It’s in the areas you don’t see that Kolisi is better than everyone else,” Bob Skinstad, himself a former Springbok captain, told Planet Rugby. “It’s almost the equivalent of the old days with the front-row ‘dark arts’.

Always on hand

“Siya is probably the most effective assist tackle and assist carry loose forward in the history of world rugby.

“He’s not always the front-line hitter on a tackle but he’s always there, making the difference between the tackled player gaining yard and being stopped dead.

“He’s not always the primary carrier but he’s always on hand in support, turning a carry from maybe making one yard into making five.

“He’s an amazing latch-on carrier and an amazing latch-on tackler. Add that to his physical stuff and the way he talks to the referee and he brings an awful lot. Rassie Erasmus recognises that.”

Kolisi, 33, will win his 91st cap versus England, the nation against whom he skippered South Africa for the first time in 2018.

Amid unforgettable scenes at Ellis Park, the man born into a life of abject poverty in a Port Elizabeth township, became the first ever black player to lead South Africa in a Test match.

In the six years since he has brought the country together behind the Springboks. “Who we play for will never change,” he insists. “There is so much going wrong in our country – we are the last line of defence. So many people are helpless and there is so much division, but we show there is hope.”

Two World Cup triumphs after assuming the role he is in the autumn of his career yet remains central to everything rugby’s number one-ranked team does.

“At this stage of his career Kolisi is playing some of the best games I’ve seen him play because he’s freed up from the bonds of ‘am I pleasing the coach?’,” said Skinstad.

“He can go out and play as the natural leader that he already is, with the players around him freed up to be the natural leaders they are. He doesn’t have to call every line-out.

“His captaincy has been hugely significant. Kolisi is a very astute player and person and he and Erasmus have a fantastic relationship.

“But I think Erasmus runs the relationship with a very smart legacy-building coach attitude. ‘I back you and will back you and do back you but I need my pound of flesh’. And I think that’s very well respected and adhered to by Kolisi.”

Challenging time

It has been a challenging time for the skipper since the Boks retained the Webb Ellis Cup in Paris a year ago.

His move to Racing 92 in the French capital was short-lived and after returning home to Durban to rejoin the Sharks he and Rachel, his wife and mother of their two children, announced the end of their eight-year marriage.

Kolisi was named on the bench in Scotland last Sunday but reclaims the captaincy from Eben Etzebeth this weekend, one of 12 changes to the starting XV.

The side named today by Erasmus features six players who did not start against England when last the sides met in the semi-finals of the 2023 World Cup.

Six days after naming seven forwards on his bench, the South Africa boss opts for a more orthodox 5-3 split this time.