Monaco (AFP)
"I'm still Siya," Siya Kolisi, South Africa's first black captain and world rugby champion, told AFP. He was elected Peace Champion of Peace 2019 by the charity Peace & Sports on Thursday in Monaco.
. "Ready to go again"
"Always on my cloud, I'm always very happy, yes, I enjoy every moment, all this experience, but I'm ready to go back and get back to work, and I continue to enjoy it every day, every day. training, but I have to get ready for the next season. "
. "Not just sportsmen"
"Peace Champion, it's fantastic, it's a great honor and a privilege for me, it's good to see people recognize those who use their voices, who use this platform (Peace & Sports, to help others, who also work off the field and inspire people to do more, because we are not just athletes, we can do a lot outside the field as well. "
. "I always helped"
"I have always helped people in my community, my club, with jerseys, transportation, money to buy food for tournaments, I've also given schools sportswear, digital tablets to study English and mathematics in different languages, we will also build sports fields in South Africa, a hundred, I hope, with companies engaged with us. , I hope to do even more thanks to the people I met here in Monaco. "
. "Touched an entire nation"
"We realized that as soon as we landed in South Africa, with all those people at the airport, we were very proud to have touched an entire nation, through sport, which reminded us that we can achieve a lot of things with the power of sport, it can change lives, let's hope this victory will inspire people in South Africa to do good for the country, not just for sport, and to keep this momentum going. "
. "A team sport"
"If I have won, I play a team sport, people have played a very important role in my life, in Japan there were so many other leaders I do not want all the credit to come back to me because it's not just me, there's the coaches, my teammates, the physical trainers, everyone has their share. "
. "A donation does not belong to you"
"God has given me a gift, so I can give it back by helping others, and when you are offered a gift, it is not yours, you have to make sure you touch as many lives as possible."
. I am not a hero"
"I do not really know what people think about me, and I can not tell them what to think of me, I just try to do my best to help, focused on the values that are dear to me I do not think much about it, because if you start to see yourself as a hero, as a fantastic person, you will stumble. "
. "If people see me as a model ..."
"I'm happy if I can inspire people, and I will never take it for granted, but I'm still the person who makes mistakes, I do not take it as a pressure, if people see me as a model, simply I'm grateful, I feel this change around me, but I'm still Siya. "
. "One day" in Top 14 ...
"One day, yes, I still have two years of contract, but then we'll see, I'll leave all the doors open."
Interviewed by Emmanuel BARRANGUET
© 2019 AFP