Zimpapers Logo

CAPE TOWN. — He has only just started his international career, but already South African rugby wing S’bu Nkosi is eyeing big things with the Springboks.

The 22-year-old Sharks flier played all three matches of the recently-completed Test series win over England and gave a good account of himself along the way.

Nkosi was particularly impressive in his debut, where he scored two tries is South Africa’s stunning Ellis Park comeback where they won 42-39.

“Now, looking back, it was memorable,” Nkosi said in Durban on Wednesday.

“I didn’t have a chance to do any reflecting on the happenings at the time because you just want to perform at your highest standard. But sitting at home thinking back now, it was a good time.

“There is no time to reflect too much, because it’s back to Super Rugby.”

Nkosi is back with the Sharks and preparing for a massive clash against the Lions in Durban tomorrow.

The Sharks are only just hanging on in the playoff race and cannot afford another slip-up, but in Nkosi they have a player who has learnt a lot in his last month with the Boks.

“As a rugby player I have grown a lot having been coached by different coaches,” he said.

“I’ve grown skill-wise where they worked a lot on us, I’ve grown in conditioning with a lot of high-intensity training and as a person I’ve grown because I was around strong men and leaders who are good examples of how I need to conduct myself in a team environment.”

Reflecting on his debut, Nkosi was profound.

“I’m a bit hard on myself so I do see things from my debut that I could have done better,” he said.

“I’m not completely happy, but I am happy about it. I don’t want to put too much emphasis on the debut that I had because I want my 100th game for the Boks to be even better than my debut was.

“The level of professionalism, the quality of the players around me . . . it was definitely a good taste to have and a taste I would like to have a lot more often.” — Sport24