Siya Kolisi's heart goes out to Carl Hayman, warns Wales know when to 'step up'

• Springbok captain Siya Kolisi said they have former All Black prop, Carl Hayman, in their thoughts.
• Hayman, capped 46 times for the All Blacks, revealed that he was diagnosed with dementia.
• Kolisi also said that Wales is a team that refuses to go away, hence their inability to win in Cardiff.

Springbok captain Siya Kolisi said their heart goes out to former All Black prop Carl Hayman, who this week revealed he was suffering from dementia.

Hayman, who represented the All Blacks in 46 Tests from 2001 to 2007, has joined a lawsuit against World Rugby with regards to his early-onset dementia.

Kolisi said as a team, they feel for Hayman, but added that World Rugby has gone out of their way to look after them with regards to their protocols.

Kolisi was also at the centre of a Head Injury Assessment when the Boks played the All Blacks in Gold Coast last month, something the Springbok captain also raised.

"What World Rugby has been doing with regards to our safety has been working really well," Kolisi said.

"I think of the last game against New Zealand and the processes that took place to ensure that I was ok. I think it has been going well.

"I really feel for Carl and we all do so as to players because it is a tough thing to go through. The protocols that are in place have become stricter to make sure we're well protected.

"We discuss these things with our doctor and he's always checking on us, even at training sessions because they look at our clips.

"I remember against New Zealand how Elton Jantjies reacted to alert the ref.

"We know that World Rugby has our best interests at heart in terms of looking after our safety on the field as players."

The Springboks' next concern is Wales, whom they meet on Saturday at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff.

While Kolisi acknowledged that they've won the matches that truly matter against Wales, the Welsh's ability to stick it out for the full 80 has been one reason the Boks haven't won in Cardiff since 2013.

"Wales are hard and they never go away. Against them, you're going to be in it for 80 minutes," Kolisi said.

"That way, the guys on the bench become so important because Wales knows when to step up the challenge.

"You saw in the semi-final, it was the same thing and when we play them in Cardiff, they never go away.

"It's all about who loses concentration and who takes the opportunity when they get them so when we play them we have to be up for it physically and we can't have a soft moment."