Sharks and Springbok utility back Aphelele Fassi has made good progress working on shortcomings that led to him being dropped from the national team last year.
The player was shafted by the Bok coaches after South Africa’s loss to Wales in Bloemfontein in July.
After that defeat, Fassi’s defensive prowess was under scrutiny and he left the camp under strict instructions to improve his tackling and defensive game for another chance in the national side.
The 25-year-old, who recently returned from an injury, has been impressive for the Sharks and was named man of the match in their United Rugby Championship (URC) outing against Edinburgh away at the weekend.
“There are quite a lot of things as an individual that I have worked on,” Fassi said on Thursday.
“When I got dropped from the Boks camp I was told there are certain things in my game I need to fix. Everyone knows that tackling was probably the key aspect ... and my kicking game too. I guess those are the things that, when I was able to actually run, I have been working on.”
Fassi believes the events have encouraged him to improve not only his defence, but his all-round game.
“I have been working on my strengths too because I think if you work on your weaknesses too much, you forget about the strengths.
“How do you see progress? I think it’s shown on the pitch by playing under pressure. You can’t see progress on training grounds because there’s no pressure.
“I would say with the individual performance I had I’m proud of myself and I can say I’ve made progress.”
The fullback/wing will be looking to continue shining and improving his game with the aim of getting back into the Bok squad ahead of the Rugby World Cup in France in September.
“I think my mindset, coming back from injury, is on playing the best rugby I can and obviously hoping that if things work out I can be in the [SA] squad or called to any camps,” he said.
The Sharks have another crucial and tough URC game against the Stormers in the coastal derby at Kings Park on Saturday (2pm).
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