NWU rugby residence renamed after Springbok captain Siya Kolisi
“Your circumstance does not have to determine who you are. If you keep on working when the opportunity comes, you will be ready for it.
“If you fail, get up. The more you get up, the more you will learn and [the] more endurance you will get. Be there for one another and be a kind human being”.
This was the message of Springbok captain Siya Kolisi on Monday, 24 February, when the North-West University (NWU) hosted the rugby player at a ceremony during which the NWU Rugby Institute replaced the name of its “Dennedorp” hostel with that of “Siya Kolisi”.
The NWU Rugby Institute is a rugby academy that prepares students for careers as professional sportsmen. The students who stay at the Siya Kolisi residence are rugby players who represent the institution in matches, such as the annual FNB Varsity Cup tournament.
“Siya, your testimony [shows] what can be achieved through courage and determination. Naming this residence in your honour, is not just about celebrating your achievement on the field, but also recognising what you represent, namely hard work, humility, and [the] ability to unite a nation,” said Prof Bismark Tyobeka, the principal and vice-chancellor of the NWU.
Lachance Tchokonete-nana, the deputy prim of the Siya Kolisi residence, said that the house committee team thought of the idea to rename the residence after South Africa’s first black Springbok captain, last year when Rassie Erasmus, the coach of the Springbok team, was awarded an honourary doctorate by the NWU. At the time, they asked Kolisi, who was also on campus when Erasmus was honoured, in person if he would be willing to let them name their residence after him.
Erasmus was also at the event and unveiled the university’s new Invictus sports residence. Invictus will be a residence for NWU track and field athletes.
The residence’s name was inspired by the 2009 movie Invictus. The movie is about the late former president Nelson Mandela’s support for the Springboks in 1995 when they participated in the Rugby World Cup for the first time and won the William Web Ellis trophy that year. Due to apartheid, which ended in 1994, South Africa could not previously participate in international sport, such as the Rugby World Cup.
Nomvula Chasakara, a master’s student in public governance, described the renaming as a “good and brilliant idea”.
“When [we] see Siya Kolisi we see a a representative of the nation and I think it is quite exciting to bring him home and to make him a part of our institution,” she said.
Aimee Bancroft, a second-year student in Communication, said the renaming could attract more rugby players to the residence as Kolisi was a “big Springbok player”.
Kolisi has been involved in several activities off the field. The Kolisi Foundation, started by Kolisi, and his former wife, Rachel, in 2020, focuses on gender-based violence, addressing food security, education, and sport. This includes providing food parcels and protective equipment across South Africa.
The Kolisis have been honoured for the work they are doing through the foundation, according to the foundation’s website. Written by Amike Viljoen, Ilzaan Muller, Siphesihle Nhlapo, Lesedi Modisane, Zane Steyn.