The Springboks had two reasons to celebrate June 16 on Friday ahead of Saturday’s second Test against France in Durban.
The first would’ve been Youth Day, with most of the squad being under the age of 30 – just Tendai Mtawarira and Frans Steyn have hit that milestone – and a number of new caps blooded in the series opener last weekend in the 37-14 victory at Loftus Versfeld.
The second, though, involved one of the players. Flank Siya Kolisi turned 26 on Friday, and was presented with a cake by captain Warren Whiteley at the team hotel in Umhlanga.
Being in the Bok camp for his birthday holds significant importance for the Stormers skipper – the first time happened in 2012, and Kolisi said that the cake he received from SA Rugby then was his first ever birthday cake.
In addition, Whiteley and his players got an opportunity to rub shoulders with former Bok captain Gary Teichmann, who was asked to hand out the match jerseys on Friday.
Former Springbok captain Gary Teichmann presented the Boks with their match day jerseys on Friday in Durban. @MTNza #BoksInASICS pic.twitter.com/8ckik4Lf7g
— South African Rugby (@Springboks) June 16, 2017