Cheslin Kolbe (born 28 October 1993) is a South African professional

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

player who currently plays for the South Africa national team and for in the

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

in France. His regular position is

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is e ...

, but he also plays at fullback. He has also recently featured at fly half for Toulouse in the top 14, and as a scrum half for the Boks. Kolbe was a member of the South Africa Sevens team that won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He was a member of the South Africa team that won the

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...

. Playing at right wing, he scored South Africa's second try in the final minutes of the final. Kolbe was nominated for 2019 World Rugby Player of the Year but lost to South Africa teammate Pieter-Steph du Toit. He is widely regarded as one of the best players in the world. He previously played for Toulouse in the Top14, the Stormers in super rugby, and Western Province in the Currie Cup. He has won the World Cup, Rugby Championship, and Lions Series with the Boks, the Top14, and Champions Cup with Toulouse, and Currie Cup with the Western Province. He is contracted until 2024 with RC Toulonnais. He has scored 9 tries in 18 tests for South Africa. He is one of the fastest rugby players ever with a 10.70 for the 100m. He is famous for his small size, but brilliant finishing skills, pace, and side stepping ability. He is part of Roc Nation, the Gilbert rugby family, Laureus, and Nike. He is the SA players player of the year 2021.

Youth rugby

Kolbe played for Hoërskool Brackenfell. He represented at various youth levels, from the Under-16 Grant Khomo Week in 2009 to the

2012 Under-21 Provincial Championship The 2012 ABSA Under-21 Provincial Championship will be contested from 13 July to 27 October 2012. The tournament will feature the Under-21 players from the fourteen provincial rugby unions in South Africa. Competition Division A There are seven p ...

Club career

Western Province

He made his provincial first class debut in their

Vodacom Cup The Vodacom Cup was an annual rugby union competition in South Africa. Annual Vodacom Cup competitions were played between its inaugural season in 1998 and 2015 and was contested between February and May each year. The Vodacom Cup was the succes ...

match against . and a month later he was named on the bench for the for their Super Rugby game against the ., then he took a year out to join moyvalley rugby club In October 2013 he was part of the Western Province team that won the

Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier ...

by beating the Lions 19-16.http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/CurrieCup/WP-crowned-Currie-Cup-champs-20141025/accessdate=2015-09-14 He penned a three-year deal to remain at Western Province until 2016.

Toulouse

Kolbe moved to

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

to join

side for the 2017–2018 season. Kolbe received a call-up to the South Africa national team for the 2018 Rugby Championship. He made his debut for South Africa against on 8 September, during Round Three of the competition, coming on in the 33rd minute as an injury replacement for Makazole Mapimpi, in a match that South Africa lost 18–23. In June 2019 Kolbe started for Stade Toulousain in the

final winning the French Championship. In 2021 Kolbe won both the European Cup and the Top 14 with Toulouse.

International career

Kolbe made his test debut in 2018 and played an important part in

Springboks The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabokoboko), is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

winning the

2019 Rugby Championship Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Mus ...

. On 2 November, Kolbe was part of the 2019 World-Cup winning team in Japan, scoring a try late in the second half of the Final against England. Kolbe was again instrumental in the

2021 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa The 2021 British & Irish Lions tour to South Africa was an international rugby union tour that took place in South Africa in July and August 2021. The British & Irish Lions, a team selected from players eligible to represent England, Ireland, Scot ...

, starting in all three test matches and the South Africa A match. Kolbe scored the

' only try in the third and deciding test of the tour to propel South Africa to a series win.

South Africa Under-20

In 2013, he was included in the training group that toured Argentina in preparation for the

2013 IRB Junior World Championship The 2013 IRB Junior World Championship was the sixth annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams. The event was organised in France by rugby's governing body, the IRB. A total of twelve nations played in the tournament ...

. He was then included in the squad for the

National sevens team

Between 2012 and 2017, he represented the South Africa Sevens team. In 2013, he was included in the squad for the

2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens The 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens was the sixth edition of the Rugby World Cup Sevens. The tournament was held at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia. New Zealand won the tournament, defeating England 33–0 in the final. Attendance for the tourname ...

. Kolbe was included in a 12-man squad for the 2016 Summer Olympics in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...

. He was named as a substitute for their first match in Group B of the competition against

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, with South Africa winning the match 24–0.

Honours

Western Province * 2014 Currie Cup winner Toulouse * Heineken Cup European Champions/ European Rugby Champions Cup:

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October 2021 coup in Sudan; Crowd shortly after t ...

* Top 14 French League :

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

South Africa * 2019 Rugby Championship winner *

winner * 2019

World Rugby Men's 15s Player of the Year The World Rugby Men's 15s Player of the Year is an accolade awarded annually by World Rugby at the World Rugby Awards. The award is presented to honour "the achievements of those involved at the highest level of the world game on the field". Th ...

nominee *

winner South Africa 7's * 2016 Olympics Bronze medal

Test Match record

Pld = Games Played, W = Games Won, D = Games Drawn, L = Games Lost, Tri = Tries Scored, Pts = Points Scored

Test tries (10)

Personal life

Kolbe is a cousin of South African

track and field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

sprinter

Wayde van Niekerk Wayde van Niekerk (South African English: , ; born 15 July 1992) is a South African track and field Sprint (running), sprinter who competes in the 200 metres, 200 and 400 metres. In the 400 metres, he is the current world record, world and ...

, who won the gold medal in the 400 metres at the 2016 Olympics and is the current 300m and 400m world record holder.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kolbe, Cheslin South African rugby union players Living people 1993 births Cape Coloureds Sportspeople from Cape Town Western Province (rugby union) players Stormers players Stade Toulousain players RC Toulonnais players Rugby union wings South Africa international rugby sevens players South Africa Under-20 international rugby union players Rugby sevens players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic rugby sevens players of South Africa Olympic bronze medalists for South Africa Olympic medalists in rugby sevens Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics South Africa international rugby union players Rugby union players from the Western Cape