Western Province coach John Dobson has confirmed that Siya Kolisi will play in their Currie Cup match against the Pumas on Friday.

Kolisi has been training with the Province squad for the last three weeks after separating from the Springboks to continue his injury rehab.

The Bok skipper has been out since May after suffering an injury towards the back end of the Stormers’ Vodacom Super Rugby campaign.

Kolisi looked in typically high spirits during training on Monday and Dobson confirmed that he will play against the Pumas at Newlands this weekend.

.@Springboks captain Siya Kolisi takes part in Western Province training on Monday. pic.twitter.com/EWfMxaqIsx — SA Rugby magazine (@SARugbymag) August 5, 2019

‘Siya is fit to play,’ Dobson said. ‘I think our plan with Siya is to start him. He will give the team a lot of confidence. That is the one thing the team needs.

‘When you lose a game, no matter you have deserved to win it, the change room is like a mortuary afterwards. Just his presence will make a big difference. He won’t captain the side.’

However, in the Springboks context, there was bad news for Damian Willemse as Dobson said the flyhalf-cum-fullback could only be fit to play against the Cheetahs in two weeks’ time.

This means that he would miss the Boks’ friendly against Argentina in Pretoria, which will effectively be the final chance for anyone to prove their fitness ahead of the World Cup.

Kolisi’s return this weekend will, however, put him in line to play for the Boks against Argentina next weekend.

Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images