Durban — Sharks fullback Aphelele Fassi has not given up on his dream of playing at the World Cup for the Springboks later this year, and he is hoping that another strong showing against the Stormers on Saturday in Durban will state his case to the selectors.
The 25-year-old’s comeback from injury is gathering momentum and his man-of-the-match performance against Edinburgh last week showed that he has taken very seriously the Bok coaching staff’s instructions to address his weaknesses.
“Any rugby player has the aspiration to be in the World Cup squad,” Fassi said. “I recently started playing again and right now game time is very important. My mindset is to play the best rugby that I possibly can and hope it is enough to get called up.”
Fassi was dropped from the Bok squad after the second Test against Wales in Bloemfontein last July when he was exposed on defence.
“There were are a lot of things I have worked on since I got dropped by the Boks,” he said. “I was told there were certain things I had to fix and I don’t think it is a secret that my tackling was the key thing as well as my kicking game.”
Last week in Edinburgh, Fassi’s tackling was generally impressive and he says he is pleased with himself.
"Everybody makes mistakes, nobody goes on to the field wanting to miss a tackle, but you have to fix your weaknesses and then it is about repetition until it becomes a strength,” he said.
Fassi said that he had put in the effort on the training ground, but could only test how far he had come in match situations.
“How do you gauge progress? You see it on the pitch when you are under pressure. It is hard to see if you have improved on the training ground because there is no pressure, and in terms of the game situations, I am proud of my performances and I can say I have made progress,” Fassi said.
So far in the United Rugby Championship, the Sharks have beaten the Bulls and Lions and now they host the defending champions.
“I think the two teams on Saturday are currently the dominant teams in South Africa and both play positive rugby,” Fassi said. “Yes, neither will have their Boks, but I don’t see a big difference — it will still be very entertaining and both teams will bring their positive best to the party. It will be a cracker.”
IOL Sport