On a day in which the South African 2019 Rugby World Cup squad remembered their victory in the final of the tournament in Tokyo a year ago, Cheslin Kolbe celebrated the anniversary of that win but also remembered the road he had to travel to get there.
Kolbe, who scored the Springboks' second try in a commanding 32-12 win over Eddie Jones' England, took to Instagram on Monday saying that although people always doubted his size, he never took the easy way out and believed them.
"1 year ago my childhood dream (was) realised," wrote Kolbe on the social media platform.
"You see, you all know I was always criticized for being too small for rugby. I could've chosen the easy way out and believed all the doubt thrown at me. But there was always that fire burning inside me, that HOPE. The hope of just pulling the green and gold jersey over my head as ridiculous as it may have seemed. Just once!
"Not only did I persevere through all of the doubt, crit(icism), lack of privilege, poverty, I also went on to be a part of one of the greatest Springbok stories in history," Kolbe added.
In a lengthy post, Kolbe continued, saying that the unity within the squad played a massive role in their victory.
"EVEN with ALL our differences, with all our backgrounds, with all our setbacks, it was done through unity!," Kolbe said.
Kolbe has played 14 times for the Springboks and scored 10 tries.
Read his full Instgram post below.
- Compiled by Sport24 staff