Following 10 years of “hard work and a lot of tears”, loose forward Oupa Mohoje will play his 100th game for the Cheetahs in the Currie Cup against the Griffons on Friday.
The 32-year-old has battled injury for much of his professional career since making his debut for the Cheetahs in 2013, yet has featured for the Free Staters in Super Rugby, the Pro14 and the Challenge Cup.
He has represented the Springboks in 19 Tests, and made a handful of appearances back at the Griffons last season as he helped the Northern Free State outfit win the Currie Cup First Division.
Speaking during a Cheetahs conference on Wednesday, Mohoje told reporters: “I’ve done 100 games in almost 10 years, I think that is a horrible stat! That’s like 10 games a year. But not a lot of players get to reach these kind of milestones … it’s always something I’ve been aiming to achieve.
“Since guys like Aranos [Coetzee] achieved their milestones I’ve always wanted to be there as well. To see how happy and content they are, was incredibly motivating for me. So me getting here, hopefully I inspire one or two others coming up.
“I’m very grateful to have gone as far as I have with the Cheetahs, I don’t think I would’ve done it with any other club. It’s been a lot of hard work, a lot of tears, but I can definitely say that the good outweighs the bad.”
The former Shimlas loose forward also believes his high and lows are a part of the trials and tribulations the men from Bloemfontein continue to overcome.
He added: “When we got kicked out of Super Rugby and went into the Pro14, not a lot of people gave us a chance there, and for us to get to the quarter-final was a mindshift for me that this is our identity. People are always going to underestimate us but our battle now is to fight on top … underdogs if I can put it that way.
“And now we’ve gone all the way to the EPCR where [again] not a lot of people gave us a chance, and eventually us making it to the round of 16 and losing to Toulon – a game we feel we maybe could’ve won.
“For me, those things are the drivers for me; it shows what kind of brand the Cheetahs are and not just guys who easily give up. We are a bunch of hard workers – the coaching staff, the players, the management – and maybe sometimes it doesn’t look like that on the field, we work incredibly hard to achieve our goals.”
Photo: Johan Pretorius/Gallo Images