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- Springbok captain Siya Kolisi said he was "happy" and described his return to Test rugby as "amazing" after his first Test start since November last year.
- Kolisi got through the first half in the Boks' 52-16 win against Wales at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff on Saturday.
- Kolisi injured his knee on 22 April while playing for the Sharks in a United Rugby Championship game against Munster in Durban.
- For more sports news, go to the News24 Sport front page.
Springbok captain Siya Kolisi relished his return to Test match rugby, even if it was for 40 minutes, in the 52-16 thrashing of Wales in Cardiff on Saturday.
Ranging in the tramlines, Kolisi also provided an assist for the first try of the game, scored by hooker Malcolm Marx, as the Bok captain made a successful return from a 22 April knee injury while on United Rugby Championship duty with the Sharks against Munster in Durban.
The knee was strapped up, as it has been for the whole build-up week, but Kolisi didn't show any discomfort as he got through the first half.
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Kolisi said there was some doubt that crept in during one of the practice sessions this week, but flanker partner Pieter-Steph du Toit gave him some comfort. Du Toit also suffered a serious knee injury in the past and went to the same surgeon (Willem van der Merwe) that Kolisi went to.
"I was very happy to be on the field and my mind was what I needed to do on the field, not anything else," Kolisi said.
"There are a lot of things I can definitely improve on, but I'm very happy that I played and I'm also happy for the team.
"It felt amazing, and I didn't have any fear because our training sessions prepared me a lot.
"I remember doing a contact session and I asked one of the guys to be a bit soft with their hits, but Pieter-Steph du Toit said I must trust my knee and I'll be fine.
"Those are the kind of things you can't buy, especially when someone who has been through that kind of injury shares that experience."
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Kolisi couldn't fault the team's efforts, even though he felt their discipline could have been better in the first half.
Kolisi was also quick to point out that what wasn't fixed in the Wales game will be sorted out when the Boks meet the All Blacks at Twickenham on Friday.
"We did well as a team, but I thought our discipline could've been much better, especially in the first half," Kolisi said.
"What we wanted to do was to stay disciplined in the system that we want, and we did that well.
"We've got an opportunity to clean things up next week."
