Rugby needs this Siya Kolisi graphic novel and you can help it happen

A call to arms for the rugby community from East Terrace editor James Stafford. (Make sure to scroll down for all the art concepts.)

Rugby needs to start taking comics and graphic novels seriously. In particular, it needs a Siya Kolisi graphic novel.

The sport keeps talking about exploring new channels and building player profiles, so why is it neglecting a medium that 40.3% of people between the age of 8 and 18 engage with at least once a month? Apart from videos on social media, a place that for all sorts of reasons is not a place we should be encouraging young fans to hang around for too long, what is really being done to engage younger fans?

In the Springbok captain, rugby has one of the most inspirational stories in all of sport. Ever. Yet, how many people outside rugby know it?

Sample of concept artwork from AJ Bernardo.

Even worse, I’d bet there are countless young rugby fans that aren’t fully aware of how much Siya has had to overcome to get where he is today. Born into a country emerging from the horrors of apartheid, Siya had to survive extreme poverty and hunger all the while surrounded by violence, drugs and crime.

Despite all this, he went on to become the first black captain of the Springboks. For that achievement alone, he deserves to go down in sporting history.

To lead his nation to two World Cups on top of all that is the stuff of Hollywood movies and…comic books.

One of the most effective ways to reach young people (especially boys who often are reluctant readers) is through the medium of comics. As we face declining literacy rates and an avalanche of tacky AI slop, we need young people reading more than ever.

Which is why two years ago, despite being in the process of working on multiple commissioned books, I spent half a year writing a 92-page draft script for a Siya Kolisi graphic novel called: Siya Kolisi: The Man Who Conquered the World.

You can view concept art for the cover below, with art by the incredible AJ Bernardo. If you like the look of this, please read on after the sample to learn how you can help support and promote this idea.

: Cover concept – Siya Kolisi: The Man Who Conquered the World

: Page 01 sample – Siya Kolisi: The Man Who Conquered the World

: Page 02 sample – Siya Kolisi: The Man Who Conquered the World

In brief moments of respite between writing other sports books for young readers, I’ve tried to find the time to pitch my Siya script concept to publishers. I’ve gotten painfully close on a couple of occasions, but never quite managed to ground the ball despite the whitewash just being an agonising inch below.

Rugby publishing, like the game itself, is traditionally a very conservative business. Rugby graphic novels are not a thing, so there is a reluctance to publish one.

If you have a child who loves football and, say, Ronaldo or Messi, there are literally dozens of children’s books or graphic novels available about both of them. The excellent football books from the likes of Simon Mugford and Matt Oldfield are fun and brilliant ways to get young sports fans reading and, in turn, further invested in sport.

Concept art from AJ Bernardo.

The football fan market, of course, dwarfs the rugby one in size and global appeal. But is there really no space for rugby graphic novels at all? Couldn’t World Rugby or national unions start looking to produce books on top players and teams to engage young fans? Why don’t top players and clubs use them for brand building? This will not only get the kids deeper into the sport, it also gets them reading. What’s the downside here?

Apart from a French-language only Antoine Dupont graphic novel in 2023, launched to coincide with a home World Cup, there doesn’t seem to be any other player-led rugby graphic novel. I know for a fact I would have gobbled up the Dupont book as a kid, even though I’m not French. I co-wrote a comic on the famous 1953 Cardiff v New Zealand game with Steve Coombs and I know the reception to that was fantastic.

Similarly, my ‘How Wales Beat the Mighty All Blacks‘ was an instant sellout and had to be reprinted before it topped the Book Council Of Wales charts at Christmas in the English language books for children section. I’ve had parents write to me to tell me their children insisted on visiting the famous Gwyn Nicholls gates after reading the book.

Teddy Morgan scores against the 1905 All Blacks for Wales

Sample from ‘How Wales Beat the Mighty All Blacks. Art by Carys Feehan.

Presented the right way a Siya book would appeal to young readers and adults across the rugby playing world, not just South Africa.

To show how much I believe in this concept I commissioned the fantastic artist AJ Bernardo to bring to life a couple of pages from my script along with some concept cover artwork. I’ve also included some of his storyboards on this page.

Work in progress art from AJ Bernardo.

Ideally I’d love to do this book officially with Siya. I think it would be great for his profile and for that of rugby too. I hope he takes this in the spirit it was intended, which is one of huge admiration. I love his story so much he’s already featured in two of my books (including the cover art for both): Unbelievable Underdogs and Rebellious Role Models and An Illustrated History of Rugby Rebels, Role Models and Giant Killers.

Best of all, I think Siya’s star power would encourage plenty of kids who never usually pick up a book to do so. Getting this in schools in South Africa would be amazing and really help kids get their heads stuck into the pages of an amazing story.

But even an unofficial biography, so often done in other sports like football, would be fantastic.

So if you think this sounds like a great idea or if this is the kind of thing you’d read or the type of book you’d buy for a young person in your life, please share this article, follow me on socials (Bluesky, Instagram, Twitter) and help get the word out (or even get in touch with me).

If you know anyone who may be in publishing or journalism who may find this of interest, please share it with them too. Every little helps.

Let’s demonstrate that there is a market for a #siyakolisicomic and get his story out there ahead of the 2027 World Cup. Rugby (and our bookshelves) would be all the better for it.

James Stafford is the author of several books, including: