Aphele ‘Weekend Special’ Fassi: The epitome of cool

Sharks fullback Aphelele Fassi is as cool, calm and collected talking to the media as he appears when launching a counter-attack from his own 22, and the thrilling 22-year-old says the secret of his success this season has been striving for consistency.

Fassi, affectionately nicknamed ‘Weekend Special’ for his stirring performances in every round to date, has been one of the Sharks’ key players as they have climbed to the top of the Super Rugby log, but on Saturday they face one of their most crucial matches when they take on the Stormers at Kings Park in Durban.

“Obviously I’m very happy with my performance and I’ve continued last year’s form into this year. The key has been trying to be consistent in everything I do.

“At times it’s all about workrate and at others it’s just about backing yourself, believing in yourself to go all the way. As a kid you always look to getting to the top, but now I’m just looking to be consistent.

“Sean Everitt [Sharks coach] and I have worked hard on my kicking game and my defence, to make them top-rate, and Pat Lambie has played a big role as well. Their work has shown in my performance and by God’s grace if the opportunity to play for the Springboks comes then I would be very grateful,” Fassi said on Tuesday.
The King William’s Town product said the team are now completely recovered from their arduous but extremely successful four-week tour of Australasia so there should be none of the fading intensity against the Stormers that was evident in the last quarter of their win over the Jaguares last weekend in Durban.

“In the last 20 minutes against the Jaguares there was a bit of fatigue, but the boys look fresh now. The South African derbies are always hectic, you could see that even in the SuperHero Super Sunday games, and the boys are keen. It’s too early to say whether we are
title contenders because in Super Rugby things can turn quickly.

“But we are performance-driven and if we maintain our standards and rectify our mistakes then we should be able to go further. You obviously always want to get the result as well, so we are putting in the hard work and backing each other. We want to be consistent and get the wins at home, because that has a big impact on whether you get home quarterfinals and things,” Fassi said.