Rugby World Cup winner Siya Kolisi is praised by the chaplain as having “amazing growth as a disciple of Jesus.”

In Paris, the men’s rugby team from South Africa, known as the Springboks, achieved a record-breaking fourth Rugby World Cup victory. They became only the second team in history to defend the title they won in Japan four years ago against England, defeating their fiercest rivals, the All Blacks, 12-11. Siya Kolisi, the team captain and a devout Christian, has been leading the group to both championships by praising and thanking the Lord Jesus and dedicating everything to him.

Sports chaplain Bruce Nadin, a pastor at Stellenbosch FC in South Africa, has been able to follow Kolisi’s journey of “full surrender to Christ.” He thinks that his development as a follower of Jesus has been incredible, and that his leadership actions—both on the field and throughout the world—have had a greater influence than his words. He is a true beacon of hope who never stops pointing out the difficulties the nation faces and the distance it still has to go to reach its full potential.

When Kolisi was a young boy, his father abandoned the family, and he was raised by his churchgoing grandmother. He has made public remarks at Hillsong gatherings about how his mother was mistreated by his father and how, when he was five years old, he would come across his mother’s teeth on the street. Because his family did not always have enough money for food or school clothes, he would wear his aunt’s shoes to school. During his school years, he lost both his mother and grandmother.

Kolisi reaffirmed his commitment to following Christ in 2015. He attributes his early life to his grandmother’s modelling of him. In a 2021 interview with BBC Sport, he disclosed candidly that he had struggles with alcohol, saying, “I want people to know that I am a sinner.”

Since Kolisi is still a young man with a huge profile and responsibility, Christian fans and the media need to exercise caution in not putting him on a pedestal. Nadin created The Locker Room, a series of get-togethers where athletes could come together in private for prayer, fellowship, and a word of inspiration from the Bible.