It was a moment the entire rugby world stood up and took notice. Okay, after last year’s Currie Cup and Super 14, Shark Tank loyalists were already well aware that we had another rugby star in the making, but when Lwazi Mvovo brushed aside two English defenders to score at Twickenham last November (aged 24), rugby scribes everywhere realised South Africa had just uncovered its latest lethal weapon. While the English players looked certain to have him covered, Mvovo used his speed and guile to ghost between two defenders with ease. Game, set, dispatched.
Mvovo performed well in the Super 14 last year and then went on to run in 12 tries in the Sharks’ Currie Cup winning season. But with Mvovo it’s not just the tries (and he scores loads), it’s the fact that every time he gets the ball – whether on attack or defence, in whatever area of the park – he’s at home under pressure and instinctively does the right thing. Like Tom Cruise in the movie, he’s got All The Right Moves.
Born at Umtata, in the erstwhile Transkei, on June 3, 1986, Lwazi Ncedo Mvovo was educated at Maria Louw High School at Queenstown in the Eastern Cape. The game of Rugby Union, however, did not exactly form part of the young Mvovo’s early education.
“I was actually a soccer player until the age of 13,” he explains. “I was a pretty good striker back then. I was also into athletics, taking part in items like the 100m and 200m, and the rugby master suggested that I give rugby a try. So, I tried out at wing and the coach was very impressed.
Mistakes
“Because it was the first time that I’d ever touched a rugby ball, there were the inevitable mistakes. Yet, the coach believed in me and I went on to play for the First XV.”
Not only that, Mvovo also gained selection for the Border Under-18 schools squad at the 2004 Coca-Cola Craven Week.
“Since then, it’s been a matter of hard work and a bit of luck. And, God’s also been on my side.”
In 2006, Mvovo started out at the Sharks Academy, which last year celebrated its 10th anniversary, and two years later he was in the Absa Currie Cup squad of The Sharks.
Applied
“I actually applied for the Academy,” says Mvovo. “I came up to Durban for tests, with my parents. We were travelling past Port Shepstone, on our way back home about two hours after the tests, when I received a call from the Academy saying that I should come back.
“I’ve now completed a Marketing Management Diploma through the Academy. It was hard, as I had to balance the rugby with my studies, but the Academy was really great in facilitating me in that regard – especially after I’d been drafted into The Sharks squad.”
“I am where I am now in life, because of rugby…”
Almost a decade after he had made the switch from the round ball to the oval-ball code, Mvovo has no regrets about choosing Rugby Union.
“Rugby has taught me a lot of things, like discipline and, generally, life skills. I am where I am now in life, because of rugby…”
Naturally, Mvovo is keen to carry on in this year’s southern hemisphere showpiece where he left off in the Absa Currie Cup arena last year. And, not even the fact that he has to compete with another two Springboks for a run on the wing can dampen his enthusiasm.
Team-mates
“I don’t really see myself as competing with JP (Pietersen) and Odwa (Ndungane). They’re my team-mates; I know that they give it their all and I do the same. So, it’s not really competition for me; I am learning from them. It’s a learning curve for me and it’s helping me a lot.
“Stef (Stefan Terblanche) helps out a lot, too. He’s a great help, regularly talking to me, giving advice and inspiring me. It’s awesome to be playing with players of that calibre and experience…”
**The Sharks kick off their Super XV campaign this year with a mouth-watering clash against the Cheetahs, their one-time hoodoo team. It’s always an entertaining game when these two attacking teams line up to face each other. King’s Park, Saturday, February 19. Kick off is at 5.05pm.
Match tickets are available from the Ticket Office at Mr Price KINGS PARK from 8.30am – 3pm at a cost of R90 for adults and R50 in the Scholar benches.
**This article first appeared in The Sharks magazine, and was written by Albert Heenop. It was kindly provided by The Sharks rugby, and has been edited by The Ridge Online.