Kolisi under no illusions as to the task ahead at RWC

The talismanic leader was the last man out in Jacques Nienaber's 33-man 2023 Rugby World Cup squad unveiling on Tuesday, smiling from ear to ear.

Pulling on a Springbok jersey comes with the pressure to perform, which is amplified in a Rugby World Cup, but Kolisi knows the team will take it in their stride. In fact, the squad has its sights set on making history.

"We know what the country expects from us," he told the press on Tuesday.

"We want the same thing. And we do love that kind of pressure. We worked to get there. There was a time when no one wanted to see us play. And we embrace that. We want to do something special, something that has only been done by New Zealand, to win back-to-back.

"But also be the first team to win the World Cup four times. That's the kind of pressure we put on ourselves. When a lot of pressure comes, we just focus internally."

Kolisi also reflected on his partial ACL tear earlier this year that threatened to scupper his World Cup ambitions.

"I was just blessed with how quickly I heal... the harder I worked, the more I started feeling good," he added.

"I was really scared. If it wasn't for my wife and my family, and the support around me¦And the guys that have been through the same thing like RG [Snyman] and Handre [Pollard] who helped me a lot.

"Every time I felt something weird, I would go to them and they would tell me where they were at the stage I was in and it gave me a lot of confidence.

"I feel really good. I have worked hard. When the team was away, I was the Sharks doing training sessions and I felt good."

READ MORE: Nienaber: Pollard set to train with the Boks this week