Fullback Aphelele Fassi is looking to show the Springbok coaches his improved defensive skills when the Sharks and DHL Stormers clash in Durban on Saturday.
Fassi was dropped by the Boks after the second of the July Tests at home against Wales in 2022. The 25-year-old was exposed on defence in the Bloemfontein defeat to the Dragons, and only played again for the SA A before an ankle injury ended his tour.
He returned to help the Sharks beat Bordeaux-Begles in the Champions Cup on 14 January, focused on addressing his tackling flaws, and it was reflected with an impressive outing in a Vodacom United Rugby Championship win at Edinburgh last week.
Fassi has not given up on his dream of playing at the World Cup later this year, and is hoping that another strong showing against the Stormers in the URC derby this week will state his case to the Bok selectors.
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Speaking to the media on Thursday in the build up to the match at Kings Park, he told reporters: “Any rugby player has the aspiration to be in the World Cup squad. 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.
“There are a lot of things I have worked on since I got dropped by the Boks. 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.”
“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.
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Fassi added: “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.”
The Sharks have created an opportunity to play themselves back into the SA Shield race in the URC, and host the reigning champions at Kings Park coming off a heavy defeat to Ulster.
Fassi said: “I think the two teams on Saturday are currently the dominant teams in South Africa and both play positive rugby. 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.”
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