Mongalo intent on Fass-tracking Aphelele towards full potential: 'The challenge is before him'

One of the most country’s talented outside backs, Aphelele Fassi, could be on the fast-track to realising his full potential, if his Currie Cup head coach and soon-to-be senior team defence coach, Joey Mongalo, has anything to do with it.

Fassi’s potential-versus-consistency ratio has lagged in the period during which he dropped out of Springbok reckoning last year to now, where he’s slowly playing himself back to form.

The fullback, who is now operating quite efficiently at left wing, the same position where he made his stunning Springbok debut against Georgia in 2021, has struggled with injuries that have hampered his season.

But before he hurt himself on two separate occasions during the United Rugby Championship (URC), Fassi’s star was starting to wane.

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He dropped out of the Bok squad during the Wales series last year after playing in the second Test defeat in Bloemfontein and has not since added to his three international caps.

It’s a desperately low number for one who made his debut a full year before the Bulls duo of Kurt-Lee Arendse (7) and Canan Moodie (4), both of whom have surpassed Fassi in Tests played and look in better contention to make the Rugby World Cup in France later this year.

Mongalo said the 25-year-old was at a crossroads and needed to correct "one or two deficiencies" in his game.

"My conversation with Aphelele was that he's got a choice and he’s at a crossroads for me," said Mongalo before the Sharks beat the Lions at Kings Park last Saturday, where Fassi scored an intercept try.

"He can be the guy who plays 200 first class games for the Sharks and never play for the Springboks [again] because of one or two