Returning to international rugby after a long layoff is a daunting prospect, especially if you are talking years and not just a few months.
It is even tougher these days when you have been out of the Springbok set-up to crack the nod and be a consistent starter.
Those who have made the journey back from injury or after being dropped at the franchise level have often described returning to the Boks as it being as much of a mental fight as it is physical.
Returning to the international set-up does not mean you are guaranteed a spot in the team.
Qonce’s Aphelele Fassi has travelled that journey back into Springbok contention in 2024.
He has impressed ex-Bok winger and Mthatha-born Odwa Ndungane, who has watched him grow at the Sharks in the past 24 months after he was told to work on aspects of his game by then-Bok mentor Jacques Nienaber.
Fassi made his Springbok debut against Georgia in 2021 and made two more appearances that year before being dropped and spending the next two years in the international wilderness.
After being one of the Sharks’ stars during their triumphant 2023-2024 Challenge Cup campaign, his superb performances at club level earned him a Test recall in 2024.
To say he grabbed the opportunity with both hands is an understatement.
He has not dropped the ball since his return clash at Twickenham against Wales in June.
He was used as a winger in 2021 and 2022 but the Wales game four months ago marked Fassi’s first start in his preferred position at full-back, with him earning a further five appearances in the starting XV against Portugal, Australia, New Zealand and Argentina (twice).
He has made the No 15 jersey his own ahead of veteran Willie le Roux and injury-plagued Damian Willemse.
“He has impressed me very much this year,” Ndungane said.
“You can imagine how hard it must be coming into a Springbok team at the back of a World Cup victory and with the competition that is there,” the former Hudson Park player and now Hollywoodbets ambassador said.
“The guys in that back line are very talented and can shift positions, which the coaches like.
“He has been able to make the No 15 jersey his ahead of Willie, who is experienced, and Damian.”
Nicknamed the “Weekend Special” and the “Church of Fassi”, the 26-year-old former Dalian is likely to start at the back for the Springboks on their end-of-year tour where Erasmus’s team is on the verge of finishing the year with close to a 90% record should they beat England in London, Wales in Cardiff and Scotland in Edinburgh in November.
It’s improbable that struggling Wales will have the strength to surprise the Springboks. But both Scotland and England will present a threat.
SA will, however, be confident of having a successful unbeaten run, potentially ending the season with 11 out of 13 wins.
That would result in an impressive 85% win rate for the year, which compares with 1998 when the Springboks won 11 of 12 Tests.
This happened after their victory in six consecutive games in 1997, marking a record winning streak before their surprising defeat to England on December 5 1998.
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