Bok captain Kolisi suffered a serious knee injury in April, casting major doubt over his availability for the team's title defence, but he has been selected for the first time this year against Wales in a warm-up fixture in Cardiff on Saturday.
"It's massive for us as a team to have Siya back in the mix," Kolbe told reporters on Wednesday.
"He means a lot to us as players with his experience and the energy he brings.
Even when he was not playing, he was on the sidelines giving input, helping a lot of the guys."
If someone gets injured, we know the next guy coming in will fill that role and is capable of doing even better."
Persons:
Siphiwe, Siya Kolisi, Cheslin Kolbe, Bok, Kolisi, Kolbe, Wales flyhalf Dan Biggar, Nick Said, Devika
Organizations:
Rugby Union, Rugby, International, Springboks REUTERS, Rights, Springboks, Wales, Wales flyhalf, Toulon, Thomson
Locations:
South Africa, France, Johannesburg, Japan, Cardiff, Pretoria