Kolbe’s the guy who makes international wings look like they’re changing a flat tire on the N1 while he disappears off-ramp. Thirty-one, compact as a coiled spring (about 172cm/80kg), and frighteningly efficient: step, burst, finish, smile. He’s currently with Tokyo Sungoliath and back in Springbok green this week, named on the right wing to take a swing at New Zealand at Eden Park. Two World Cups behind him, soft hands, vicious chase lines, and that trademark inside-out shimmy that breaks GPS units.

CV in fast-forward

Cape Flats kid, Western Province/Stormers grafter, then Toulouse polish where he picked up Top 14 (2019, 2021) and the 2021 Champions Cup, before a Toulon stint that ended with him bossing the 2023 EPCR Challenge Cup final as man of the match. In June 2023 he inked Japan Rugby League One terms and shipped out to Tokyo; the fit has been seamless and lucrative, but more importantly, he’s been trusted with ball-in-hand and, occasionally, the tee.

National-team menace

Test debut in 2018. Since then, he’s been the Springboks’ postal service for big moments. He scored in the 2019 World Cup final, the game in Yokohama where England’s shape folded and Kolbe iced it by skinning Owen Farrell late. In 2021 he scored the series-clinching try against the British & Irish Lions in the third Test—speed, balance, and a fins-up finish that broke the tourists’ hearts. And in France 2023, he made the quarter-final hinge with that now-mythic charge-down on Thomas Ramos—two points erased in a one-point win—then rode out a late yellow in the final as South Africa edged New Zealand 12–11. Fine margins, and Kolbe keeps finding the right side of them.

Where he is today (as of 04/09/2025)

The Bok matchday paperwork this week lists him at 42 caps and 111 Test points – that tally built mostly on tries but sprinkled with a few conversions and penalties because, yes, Kolbe can kick under pressure. He lines up with Willie le Roux and Canan Moodie in a back three that blends experience, aerial security, and counterpunch. It’s a horses-for-courses pick and Kolbe is the course that ruins your handicap.

Club form: Tokyo turbo

Japan’s been a sandbox for his full skill set. By the end of 2024-25, Sungoliath had used him at wing and occasionally as a relief goal-kicker. One late-season outing saw him pile up 28 points (two tries, three cons, four pens). Another day he mixed a try with a handful of conversions. The point isn’t the numbers; it’s the responsibility – he’s been a go-to closer and tempo-setter, not a luxury finisher hiding on the paint.

Snapshot stats & silverware

• Age: 31 (born 28 Oct 1993)
• Size: ~172cm, 80kg
• Primary roles: Right wing, left wing; can deputise at fullback, emergency 10
• Current club: Tokyo Sungoliath
• Springboks: 42 caps, 111 points (18T, 3C, 5P)
• Major gongs: Rugby World Cup 2019 & 2023; 2021 Champions Cup (Toulouse); 2019 & 2021 Top 14 (Toulouse); 2023 EPCR Challenge Cup (Toulon); Olympic bronze with the Blitzboks in 2016.
  If you’re keeping a mantelpiece ledger, that’s elite-company hardware from both hemispheres, plus the Olympic bling that very few 15s stars can flash.

The tape tells you…

Feet: He doesn’t step so much as redraw defenders’ center lines. First five metres are electric; second five are efficient.
Aerials: Sneaky good; times the contest, then transfers contact to ball or carrier with minimal fuss.
Contact: Undersized only on a spreadsheet. Low body height and absurd core strength make him a nightmare in chop tackles and a pest at the ball.
Game intelligence: Reads short-side space earlier than most 9s. Knows when to hold width and when to knife infield behind a pod.
Extras: Chase work is relentless; counter-rucks are opportunistic; can kick goals if your specialists are in the sin bin or on the physio’s table. (Tokyo has leaned into this more than his European clubs ever did.)

2024-25 form guide

He reminded everyone of the finishing class with a brace against England at Twickenham last November, and he’s been healthy and sharp since returning for country. No baggage, no rust – just that familiar low-slung glide into contact and the ice-cold decision-making on exit sets. If the Boks squeeze New Zealand into a trench war, Kolbe’s still the break-glass option for a one-phase try from nothing.

The bottom line

Kolbe at 31 isn’t living on past highlight reels – he’s broadened the portfolio. The try-line remains his natural habitat, but the CV now includes game management, pressure kicking, and momentum plays that swing Tests. The stat-line (42 caps, 111 points) is the tidy summary; the film is the evidence. There are quicker wings and bigger ones, but there isn’t a better big-moment wing in world rugby. If you blink on Saturday, you’ll only catch the afterimage and the scoreboard update.