Kolisi defence force: 4 reasons people are defending Rachel Kolisi

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi's wife, Rachel, has been trending on Twitter, as tweeps flocked to social media to defend her from “bullies”.

Since the Bokke won the Rugby World Cup (RWC) in Japan on Saturday, she has received some rather mean comments from Twitter haters.

Rachel has made headlines and trended on social media before for slamming women who make moves on her husband, and some users warned her not to do the same when a clip of “checking out” Miss SA went viral on social media.

TV personalities Lerato Kganyago and Hulisani Ravele have spoken out against the attacks on Rachel, with Hulisani describing them as “ugly”.

“A lot of black women being unnecessarily mean towards Rachel Kolisi makes me cringe! Says a lot about us!” said Lerato.

Here are five reasons Mzansi is rallying behind Rachel:

She loves Siya

Rachel clearly loves her husband and is always sharing snaps of the two of them on social media. In the weeks leading up to the world cup, she was there, with two of their four bundles of joy, cheering him on and offering him all their support.

She has her own life 

Rachel is often cast under her husband's shadow, but she has a life of her own. Like Siya, she is into fitness and runs Rise, a fitness organisation which encourages women to pursue and make fitness a lifestyle. She is so busy, in fact, that she will not be attending the Springboks trophy, tour as she has a business to look after.

In her stories she said: “So sad that I won't be joining the victory tour! I have four kids that all have a lot going on at the moment which need my full attention, a business to run. Plans to change a nation rollout while taking care of me.”

She is not about to drag anyone

Social media users have given Rachel lots of reasons to be mean, but she's constantly protected her peace and lived her life. However, this doesn't mean she doesn't see the nasty comments made about her on the socials.

On Instagram stories she shared a message which read, in part: “Your creator can see things in you that other people cannot see. Sometimes people will try to push you down or make you feel insignificant.”

Women (dis)unity

Many have defended Rachel in the name of women empowerment. Here are a few responses in this regard: