WATCH | Siya for president: Bok skipper jumps hoardings to greet fans, defends Libbok

If there is an underrated weapon for the Springboks at the 2023 Rugby World Cup it is — quite apart from his obvious playing qualities — the humility, eloquence and humanity of their captain, Siya Kolisi.

After the Springboks' opening 18-3 win against Scotland, the global sports icon again showed his ability to read the room and the leadership qualities that make him such a fine Bok captain but also are so unforced and come so naturally to the No 6 from the Eastern Cape.

In a video spread on social media, Kolisi was seen doing a one-man victory lap across the field long after the final whistle at Stade Vélodrome in Marseille. He made his way to a group of South African supporters still celebrating in the near-emptied stadium and jumped advertising boards to greet them.

In the post-match press conference Kolisi gave an eloquent defence of the place-kicking of flyhalf Mannie Libbok, who landed some kicks at poles early in the game, then missed a few before scrumhalf Faf de Klerk took over. Libbok's conversion rate at poles has been a recent talking point. 

Kolisi made a point of coming back to an earlier question to defend Libbok, who was man-of-the-match for his excellent contribution in open play.

“We play as a team and sometimes you’re not good at one thing on the day. But the way he attacked today, the way he takes control of the team, how he is a general among us — people forget the general stuff he does.

“Faf can kick, Cheslin [Kolbe] can kick, there are a lot of guys we can call upon. If someone’s lacking somewhere, there are a lot of guys who can take over.

“It’s the same with me. Sometimes I don’t know what to call in a game — Duane [Vermeulen] will call, Eben [Etzebeth] will, or Manie makes a call.

“He’s not going to be good at everything every single day. Sometimes flyhalves, you have to hide them, they can’t tackle. He tackles there with us.

“You can’t have everything on the day, sometimes you miss something — that’s why we don’t stress about it. If he misses it, next time, we go. It’s the same with a throw [at a line-out] — if you throw it skew, you don’t do it intentionally.

“We’re working as a group and he has confidence in us. And when Faf has to kick, nobody stresses — we move on because he’s going to maybe be good on the day.”

Kolisi wasn't the only player greeting fans after the game, as many of the Boks lingered on the fringes of the Stade Vélodrome pitch afterwards to acknowledge their travelling supporters.

One video shows a young fan in tears being greeted by De Klerk.

The Boks meet Romania in their next pool B game at Stade de Bordeaux on Sunday (3pm).

TIMESLIVE WORLD CUP PROFILES

Pools:

Pool A | Pool B | Pool C | Pool D

Star players:

Damian Penaud, France | Canan Moodie, South Africa | Selestino Ravutaumada, Fiji | Ardie Savea, New Zealand | Will Skelton, Australia | Johnny Sexton, Ireland | Antoine Dupont, France 

All the World Cup pools, fixtures and results here