Cheslin Kolbe: The most relatable star of the Springbok rugby team

Cheslin Kolbe, a standout Springbok wing, is celebrated for his speed and agility, but it’s his relatability - highlighted by humorous moments with teammates - that endears him to fans and solidifies his status as a rugby legend.

He may be one of the best Springbok wings of all time, but Kolbe may just be the most relatable player in the current team of superstars.

Nearing 50 caps for the Springboks and over 120 points scored, he easily places him among the greats of the game like legendary Bok speedster Bryan Habana.

In fact, as a backline player, Kolbe often steals the limelight with all the tries he scores as he powers his way past defenders on the touchline.

Siya Kolisi Highlights Humorous Size Differences Among Springboks in Viral Video

However, as highlighted recently in a viral video shared by Bok skipper Siya Kolisi, Kolbe is certainly one of the smaller Springboks in the side.

Kolisi was walking through the city streets among skyscrapers, which he made sure to mention, before showing his lanky forward teammates Eben Etzebeth, RG Snyman, and Lood de Jager.

In between hearty laughter, Kolisi cuts to the quick after saying, “We’ve got another tower,” as the four burly men walk on the streets.

“We have four men here, well, I’m a beautiful man,” before he turns to Kolbe and says, “and then we have the other half.”

At 1.71m tall, Kolbe is dwarfed by players like Etzebeth (2.03m), Snyman (2.06m), De Jager (2.05m) and even Kolisi (1.87m).

If you saw Kolbe off the rugby pitch though, he wouldn’t stick out at all for his height. Instead, you might actually first notice his muscular build before you recognise him as the Springbok star.

Kolbe’s Human Moment: A ‘Brain Fart’ That Endears Him to Fans

Aside from his height and brilliance on the rugby field, he also demonstrated recently that he’s also human.

Kolbe had another great game during their Rugby Championship clash against Argentina in Durban late last month.

With the game paused for a restart with a goal-line drop-out, Kolbe, instead of passing to a teammate to get play going, instinctively drop-kicked the ball towards his flyhalf like he would during a training session. Without thinking though, Kolbe had inadvertently restarted play, and Argentina gratefully accepted the gift by gathering the ball and scoring the easiest try they ever will against the Springboks.

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus later called the moment a ‘brain fart’ before saying he was more concerned with the brilliant things Kolbe did in the game.

While Kolbe will no doubt want to forget that moment, it showed that even the best players in the world can make mistakes, and it’s one the public easily forgave.

Instead of the incident tarnishing Kolbe’s reputation, it might just be another reason why the man in the street can relate to a player who will probably go down as a Bok legend by the time he hangs up his boots.