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Exciting Aphelele Fassi on the main reason he has stayed
The crunch SA Shield derby at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday will showcase an electrifying showdown between Hollywoodbets Sharks Aphelele Fassi and Vodacom Bulls playmaker Willie le Roux.
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Fassi has made a flying start to the 2023-24 BKT United Rugby Championship and scored a try-double in last week’s emphatic victory over the visiting Welsh Dragons, while World Cup-winner Le Roux returned from a Springbok-enforced break to make his Vodacom Bulls debut in style, dotting down for one of his team’s seven tries in an impressive destruction of Connacht.
Fassi has made more carry metres than any other player in the BKT URC this season (565) and was directly involved in 10 line breaks in total, making six himself and assisting a further four, the most of any player.
The 25-year-old turned down lucrative offers to leave Durban and resigned with the Hollywoodbets Sharks, determined to soar to new heights with his boyhood club.
“The main reason I stay is because I still want to do more for this jersey at the Hollywoodbets Sharks,” said Fassi.
“Coming into the new season, I need to focus on getting that consistency in my performance, reviewing where I can improve after each game.”
Having made a try-scoring Springboks Test debut against Georgia in 2021, Fassi has added just two more caps to his collection, and he knows exactly what is required to push for a return to the Springbok fold.
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There is no better time for Fassi to show his all-round growth as a player and leader in the backline than on Saturday, when he duels with incumbent Springbok fullback, Le Roux.
The 34-year-old is among a quartet of World Cup winners available to the Vodacom Bulls for the derby, on the back of a sensational first run in blue.
Back plying his trade in the Republic for the first time since 2016, Le Roux played like he was part of the furniture at Loftus Versfeld and showed why he will be integral to Jake White’s plans for the Vodacom Bulls.
“It’s the first time he’s played for us but it looked like he’d been with us for four years,” White said.
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“He’s got unbelievable timing, he’s very skilful, clever and you can already see the impact he has with guys like Canan [Moodie] and Kurt-Lee [Arendse].”
The rivalry between these two South African heavyweight contenders goes back decades, as the Hollywoodbets Sharks and Vodacom Bulls have battled for domestic titles and Super Rugby silverware in the past.
In the BKT URC, they faced off in the 2021-22 quarter-finals, where the Vodacom Bulls snatched a dramatic win on home turf and most recently, it is the Hollywoodbets Sharks who have held the bragging rights after beating their rivals 47-20 on South Africa’s East Coast.
Saturday’s match presents Fassi with an important opportunity to prove he has outgrown his reputation as a rookie, and that his challenge for Bok honours is one that must be taken very seriously. The priority for Le Roux will be to show why 93 Test caps uniquely qualifies him to remain South Africa’s first-choice fullback in 2024.
Comments on RugbyPass
You just backed the Boks with that fantastic review! Well done! Have some cake!
160 Go to commentsBen Smith please write up something better than this. The Springboks would have won the world cup if you were 15 men on the field. They would have found a way, they always find a way to beat the All Blacks.
160 Go to commentsWow, there is a lot of “could have” and “ should have” in this waist of time dribble. I love the deportation in this story to search for a glimpse at a silver lining. Here are the facts, NZ was a badly coached and undisciplined shadow of their former glory. They never took the lead in a game they were never going to win.
160 Go to commentsGOTTA MAKE ‘THE GEORGE’ HAPPEN!!!! That’s a great idea! A trans Tasman midget battle on ANZAC Day. I don’t think the ABs Wallabies game should be a one off winner takes all though, just the first match with the other two later in the year with the RC. Reason being, no one will ever shut up about how aussies couldn’t win it when it was a 3 match series.
1 Go to comments@Ben smith. Thats knock out rugby. So honeslty who cares?
160 Go to commentsIt will interesting to know which Irish players said that…
1 Go to commentsNaaaww boys will be boys! Now run along ya wee scamp! Don’t let us catch you at again😏
1 Go to commentsGreat to have Ethan Blackadder back in the Crusaders in the last few weeks. One of the best all round loose forwards around. He played so well last week against the Rebels. Fantastic attitude Ethan has and his comments are spot on.
2 Go to commentsThe author is 100% right. The Springboks know that they don't have near the natural attraction, mana, skill and mystic the All Blacks have. So, Chasing the sun 1 & 2 was concocted to overblow the Boks image on the back of a corruptly obtained “win". It's marketing ploy to force the Boks delusion as the World's Best. I guess World Rugby is also not to be believed when it came out with an apology about how the final was officiated. And if the 2023 final such a superb game by the Boks, then the Boks crying about Referee Bryce Lawrence for decades is also deserves a laugh. Chase the sun and get burned like a moth. A very well written literary piece that tore the Boks and Chasing the sun farce to shreds. 🖤All Blacks🏉
160 Go to commentsI’d say France was far more hard done by in the 2011 final than the All Blacks in this game. Joubert simply refused to call a penalty against the All Blacks in the last quarter even directing an All Black to drop a ball he picked up in an offside position rather than penalizing him. This article also totally discounts the efforts of PSTD. Ask Jordie how well he played. Or the backup flank who played hooker for the entire game. Siya was also a brilliant tackle by Richie from scoring a blinder. Pollard was also fantastic. Look I don’t like the boks style but the only thing more questionable than the content of this article is the timing of it. Get over it already
160 Go to commentsDad Marty was also a handy rugby player for Linwood back in the day. Great bloke. Sensational softball career.
2 Go to commentsWhat ifs are always dangerous. If you look at the game before Sam cane got sent of SA was dominating. You could make the argument the going down to 14 men rallied the troops and made them have to play to win which is always dangerous.
160 Go to commentsOmg… you are bruised And battered Benny. Stop crying … the scoreboard speaks. What a pathetic lover you are.. 🤣🤣🤣
160 Go to commentsPacific Lions, cry me a river
160 Go to commentsThis is the single worst piece of journalism I have ever seen since your last one. As a neutral, who really states that there should be an asterisk next to a win? You are an utter embarrassment to real AB fans, journalism and that joke of a house which pays you for this nonsense. Get a life, Ben.
160 Go to commentsGuys. Cancel the World Cup champions after this analysis. It changes everything. Ben knows. We’ll have to unengrave the Bokke off the trophy and hand it to the ABs, now that I’ve been enlightened about this illegitimate win. This needs to be done. Now!
160 Go to commentsBen is right here though, Springboks were woefully poor with the advantage they had throughout this game. The France match was heroic because that was an even contest this match had it taken place in Rugby Championship would have been an easy win for NZ. If anything this match should tell the Bok coaches that a lot of this team should be changed. They beat this same NZ team by record margin with the same circumstances but with a different core. They bring back the tried and tested guys and they nearly botch this game.
160 Go to commentsI knew who wrote this article from the first few words in the headline…lol. The red card actually did the ABs a favour. It galvanized them, only then did they step up a gear. Before that there was zero momentum.
160 Go to commentsFirstly the foul on Bongi was a planned move just like the NZ master plan with Bryce Lawrence you kiwis are filthy fux perhaps try to play a cleaner game next time I doubt that’s possible tho but don’t worry world rugby is on yr side they trying to take away all the BOKS strengths to help all you weakling as Jeremy Clarkson would say LA OO ZA ERR..🤣
160 Go to commentsAbsolutely spot on Ben. I certainly wouldn't gloat over a win like that. Frustrating as it is it's done and dusted and history will forever show the result.
160 Go to comments