Springbok camp invite has ignited a fire in Siba Mahashe: ‘Huge motivation’
· Citizen
Rising Lions loose forward talent Siba Mahashe has had a fire ignited in him after being invited to the Springbok alignment camp in Cape Town this week.
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Unfortunately for Mahashe he had to miss out on being there in-person, along with his teammates, captain Francke Horn, Batho Hlekani, Quan Horn, Haashim Pead and Henco van Wyk, after the Lions chose to stay in Ireland to prepare for their United Rugby Championship (URC) quarterfinal against Leinster next weekend.
But they were able to attend a session online, and Mahashe admitted to The Citizen that just being invited had inspired him to aim for bigger and better things.
Morné van den Berg meanwhile has picked up an injury and been ruled out of action for up to six months. He underwent surgery on Wednesday and didn’t attend the camp.
“I was very happy hearing that I was invited to the alignment camp. It is a dream come true for me because most rugby players dream to play for the Springboks. So to know that I am considered part of that environment makes me very happy,” said Mahashe.
“It has ignited a belief in me that the work that I am putting in and the good performances that I have been producing have been recognised. So that is a huge motivation for me to continue doing better and improving in each game that I play.”
Incredible rise
It is an incredible rise for Mahashe who only made his senior Lions debut back in January, with the 22-year-old now considered one of the team’s most important players.
Since making two appearances off the bench in the Challenge Cup, Mahashe has started all of the Lions‘ next eight games in the URC, and he is likely to be in the starting lineup next weekend as well.
Despite his sudden rise in the team, Mahashe says he has settled in nicely and feels at home in the very competitive loose forward department.
“I have managed to settle in and I am very happy with my teammates. The leaders of this group make it very easy for us youngsters to feel part of the team, and they make it a point that we must be able to express ourselves. So I am fully settled and comfortable in the team,” said Mahashe.
“We have very good loose forwards here and the nice thing is that we all offer something different, so we are all able to learn from each other. As a youngster I obviously learn from the older guys, Francke (Horn), Ruan (Venter), JC (Pretorius), Jarod (Cairns) and Renzo (du Plessis).
“There is a lot that I learn and take from them at every training session. So that’s one of the nice things about the Lions, that our loosies are very strong.”