Sharks wing Aphelele Fassi says he is taking every opportunity to pick the brains of the team’s senior players in his first year of senior rugby.

Fassi, who caught the eye in the Provincial Rugby Challenge, has been thrown into action in the Currie Cup. He scored on his debut off the bench against the Blue Bulls.

However, the 20-year-old product of Dale College says there are still areas that he needs to work on and is grateful to have the likes of Springboks S’bu Nkosi and Lwazi Mvovo in the squad to learn from.

‘It’s been a great year for me so far, but one thing I keep telling myself is that I need to keep learning,’ Fassi said. ‘S’bu Nkosi is someone I can learn a lot from. That’s the big thing, it’s all about learning and the position I’m in now is thanks to what I’ve learned and I will be applying myself to learning even more.

‘Players like Lwazi, as seniors, have guided me and I take every opportunity to learn from them and then applying that knowledge into my game.’

Fassi says that although his rise has been meteoric, he has had plenty of opportunities this year to develop his game.

‘As a player, you want to improve every time you run onto the pitch and although I started off in the Rugby Challenge earlier this year, Currie Cup isn’t too dissimilar and I’m happy with things. The physicality and speed of the two tournaments is pretty much the same.

‘My tackling and kicking out of hand – as a fullback, those are the things I believe one should work on.’

The Sharks next face the Lions in Durban, which will offer the hosts a chance to climb to the top of the table.

‘They have experienced players, a number of Springboks in their squad which is similar to our side, but if, like Western Province, who capitalised on the Lions’ mistakes last weekend, we do the same, then we should have a good game.’

Photo: Steve Haag/Gallo Images