Sharks coach Joey Mongalo says there is still more than enough time for Fez Mbatha to realise his potential and play for the Springboks by the next World Cup.
Mbatha scored twice in a man of the match performance to help a youthful Sharks outfit come from behind to beat Currie Cup newbies the Griffon in their opening fixture of the tournament.
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Having been schooled at Maritzburg College, Mbatha has come through the ranks in Durban and made his senior Sharks debut in 2019. However, his game time has been limited by the presence of Springbok Bongi Mbonambi as well as Kerron van Vuuren and Dan Jooste.
“Fez has got the most potential in the world and whenever I look at him, I think of the World Cup in 2027,” Mongalo said.
“If he gets his stuff right and keeps working on his throwing, conditioning and playing, there is no reason he can’t become a future Springbok.”
The Sharks opened their campaign with a 32-16 victory over a gutsy Griffons outfit, after trailing at half-time in what was Mongalo’s first game in charge of the Currie Cup side.
“I thought we showed good character after a slow start. We were always going to struggle for cohesion initially given that these players have only just come together,” Mongalo said.
“It was always going to take time for us to gel and luckily it happened around the half-time mark. I am thankful for that.
“The half-time talk worked,” Mongalo admitted. “There was some interesting language in the change room and the players responded. The decision-makers reacted well and the rest of the team followed, and we changed the game around.”
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