Sharks prop Mawande Mdanda says scrumming against Ox Nche every week has been the most valuable lesson of his young professional career.
The 22-year-old tighthead, who grew up playing rugby on the dusty streets of Mandeni, is still early in his journey but already rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest names in world rugby at Kings Park.
“In training, every week you are scrumming against a guy like Ox, the best in the world,” Mdanda told Rugby365. “It certainly helps me in the game, because you can never get a more valuable lesson than facing Ox.”
Mdanda, a former Junior Springbok, has begun to feature more regularly for the Sharks this season, with appearances in both the Vodacom URC and Investec Champions Cup, including 33 minutes off the bench against the Sale Sharks in Manchester last Saturday.
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But it is the unseen work at training that he believes is accelerating his development.
“After training or after a scrumming session, I will ask questions of Ox and Vincent [Koch],” he explained. “The Springboks are all great in helping the younger players with their development, and we learn as much as possible from them.”
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With World Cup winners also including Bongi Mbonambi, Eben Etzebeth and Siya Kolisi in the Sharks setup, Mdanda admits he is embracing the tough lessons that come with elite standards.
“I want to get ‘cooked’ as much as possible, because I am still in a development phase of my career,” he said. “I am still very ‘raw’ and have a lot of room for improvement.”
Photo: Steve Haag/Gallo Images
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Sharks prop Mawande Mdanda says scrumming against Ox Nche every week has been the most valuable lesson of his young professional career. The 22-year-old tighthead, who grew up playing rugby on the dusty streets of Mandeni, is still early in his journey but already rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest names in world rugby at Kings Park. “In training,… Read more →
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