DHL Stormers skipper Kolisi earns Laureus honour

DHL Stormers skipper Siya Kolisi’s inspirational rise from a childhood in the Zwide Township in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, to become the first black Springbok Test captain has won the July Laureus Sporting Moment of the Month competition, after a vote by thousands of sports fans around the world.

Leading the team against England at Ellis Park, Johannesburg in June, Kolisi wore the iconic No.6 jersey, the same number worn by President Nelson Mandela, the first Patron of Laureus, at the historic 1995 Rugby World Cup Final, also at Ellis Park, which South Africa won.

Siya Kolisi now becomes the fifth Nominee for the Laureus Sporting Moment of the Year, joining March winners and ski jumping legends Sven Hannawald and Kamil Stoch, April winner Doddie Weir, Rochdale football star Joe Thompson, who won in May, and June’s winner, Chinese double-amputee Xia Boyu who climbed Mt Everest.

Each month, from March to December, the public can select their favourite Moment from a shortlist of four videos, chosen by the sporting legends of the Laureus World Sports Academy. Monthly winners will then go head-to-head in a final public vote, with the winner being announced at the 2019 Laureus Awards Ceremony.