The Stonehouse rock in SA rugby's foundation: Mongalo hails 'Coach Jimmy' for new Sharks signing

If it were up to Joey Mongalo, the Sharks' Currie Cup mentor would go on every media platform and hail the work being done by Jimmy Stonehouse and his counterparts at South African rugby's so-called smaller unions.

The Durbanites earlier this week confirmed that they would become the beneficiaries of yet another Pumas star after signing Diego Appollis, whose stint in Nelspruit has seen him soar.

Considered a prodigy during his school years at Hoërskool Garsfontein, the 22-year-old - who would've been a shoo-in for the Junior Springboks had Covid-19 not struck - was a key member of a successful Bulls Under-21 outfit that won a national title in late 2020.

Yet his appearances at senior level were limited and Stonehouse swooped when his deal at Loftus expired.

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Appollis' full pre-season in the Lowveld clearly did him wonders as he has arguably been the outstanding back of this season's Currie Cup campaign.

He is the leading try-scorer to date with six, while his playmaking abilities have been exemplified hugely with impressive attacking stats: six try assists, 252 gained metres, eight line-breaks, 20 defenders beaten and eight off-loads.

When the going has been tough, Appollis has held his own as defender too.

"Diego is an outstanding rugby player," Stonehouse told News24 previously.

"We all knew his pedigree from his school days, but he came to us and has proven himself one of the most hard-working players in the group. He's been very influential for us and I'm definitely proud of him."

Yet Mongalo, rightly, points out that Appollis wouldn't have been able to grab his and the Sharks' attention had he not been afforded a platform