Aphelele Fassi never ‘lost hope’ as he reveals the key to Springboks’ resurgence after two-year absence
Aphelele Fassi has featured six times for the Springboks this year after a two-year spell outside of the squad.
Full-back Aphelele Fassi has featured six times for the Springboks in 2024 in a stunning return to Test rugby after two years in the wilderness.
The 26-year-old made his Test debut for South Africa back in 2021, earning two caps that year and another in 2022.
However, his third cap, against Wales in Bloemfontein in 2022, would be the last time he represented the Springboks until 2024 after being told to work on certain parts of his game.
The Sharks star duly obliged and earned a recall to Rassie Erasmus’ first squad in 2024, making his first appearance in Green and Gold in just under two years in the Twickenham clash against Wales in June.
Credit to the Sharks’ coaches
That game against Warren Gatland’s charges in London also marked Fassi’s first start in his preferred position, full-back, for the Springboks, with the star earning a further five appearances in the starting XV against Portugal, Australia, New Zealand and Argentina (twice).
Reflecting on his return to international rugby, Fassi said that he was pleased with his performances in the Springboks jersey.
“I’m definitely happy,” he said after the victory over Argentina where he scored two tries.
“But rugby is a team effort and we wanted to play our game and take our opportunities, there were opportunities that we left out there but we’ll work on that and just be happy for the performance.”
Fassi credited the Sharks coaches with helping him gain the confidence and self-belief that saw him earn a recall to the Springboks squad.
The man affectionately known as ‘The Weekend Special’ – a reference to the Brenda Fassie song – added that he never gave up on playing for his country again but doubt did creep in.
“I wouldn’t say I lost hope in getting back into the squad, but I give credit to the Sharks coaches they put me into a great mental space,” he said.
“When you have a dream and then you are told to go work on certain things, you start to doubt yourself.
“The Sharks’ coaches helped me in the sense of saying ‘Don’t doubt yourself, you can do it’ and helping me gain confidence by training those things that I lacked and then switching my mentality to knowing that whatever I do, it doesn’t need to be negative even if it’s just getting onto the next job.”
Last year, Sharks defence coach Joey Mongalo – who was head coach of the Currie Cup team at the time – spoke frankly about Fassi’s future.
“My conversation with Aphelele was that he’s got a choice and he’s at a crossroads for me,” Mongalo said.
“He can be the guy who plays 200 first-class games for the Sharks and never play for the Springboks [again] because of one or two deficiencies in his game that he can sort out now.
“Or he can fix those one or two deficiencies and then play 200 games for the Sharks but also play 50 to 100 for the Springboks as well. We’ve laid the challenge before him. We’re working with him on a daily basis on one or two of those deficiencies.”
He added: “It would be a sad thing for me if I’m one day watching rugby and he’s not playing at the highest level because I didn’t want to go deep with him and challenge him on one or two weaknesses.”
Having worked on those shortcomings in his game, Fassi starred in the Sharks’ disappointing URC campaign last season and was a key figure in their run to the Challenge Cup title.
That resulted in his Bok recall and saw him start those key fixtures, with his selection against the All Blacks raising a few eyebrows but he delivered another standout performance.
“To be able to be backed by the coaches to play important games for the Springboks is an honour and a privilege,” Fassi said.
Rassie Erasmus anger justified as concerns grow over Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu injury
Teammates drive Fassi to improve
The exciting back linked up well with Manie Libbok in the victory over Los Pumas in the final round of the tournament, running a sharp line to score his opening try while also combining with the playmaker to set up Cheslin Kolbe’s score.
Fassie said that he enjoys playing alongside the Stormers fly-half while explaining the impact the more experienced players in the Springboks team have had on his approach to his game.
“It’s an honour and a privilege to play with guys like Pieter-Steph [du Toit], the most capped Springbok Eben Etzebeth and Siya Kolisi,” he said.
“People like that, they drive me to work harder, obviously wanting to be there and play as many games as I can.
“They have a big impact in how I think and how I want to do things.”
He added: “Manie is a special player, I truly enjoy how he plays and I think we play in a similar way in terms of wanting to attack and attacking the space that’s in front of us.”
READ MORE: World Rankings: Why the Springboks remain second despite winning the Rugby Championship
