Captain Siya Kolisi just wants to feed the needy on his birthday

CAPE TOWN - South Africa's favourite rugby player celebrates his birthday on one of country's most significant days.

June 16, 1976 was one of the most tragic days in South Africa's history. It was the day when the Apartheid police shot and killed hundreds of children and students who were protesting against the use of Afrikaans as a medium of instruction in schools.

In remembrance of that dark day, June 16 is now a public holiday, called Youth Day

On June 16, 1991 Siyamthanda 'Siya' Kolisi was born in Zwide, a township just outside Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape.

He made his Springbok debut as a substitute against Scotland in 2013, before becoming the first black captain of the Springboks in 2018.

Kolisi went on to lead to the Boks to the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, after they defeated England 32-12 in the final.

The athletic flank is known for making an impact on the field, but Kolisi is also a humanitarian off it. He along with wife Rachel Kolilsi, they launched the Kolisi Foundation this year in a bid to help the less fortunate.

Youth Day and Co-founder Siya Kolisi’s Birthday

“My dream is to provide more opportunities for our youth to realise that whether they live in the suburbs or a township, they can be anyone they want to be.“ - @SiyaKolisi_Bear pic.twitter.com/NsYpWGKE0I

— Kolisi Foundation (@KolisiFoundati1) June 16, 2020

The Kolisis have been busy doing their bit to help those in need around South Africa during the coronavirus pandemic.

View this post on Instagram

I asked him what he wanted to do for his birthday this year. He said: “all I want is to make sure people have food.” Happy Birthday my guy. We love you.

A post shared by Rachel Kolisi(@rachel_kolisi) on Jun 16, 2020 at 1:09am PDT

* Happy Birthday captain Siya, IOL Sport salutes you!