Mente Abongile - Captain of Zweliyandila
Zweliyandila captain Mente Abongile is feeling confident that his side will be able to continue their unbeaten run this year when they take on local rivals Ntsonkotha in their FNB Classic Clash just outside East London this weekend.
Abongile is a hard-working loose forward who is comfortable both on the flank and at No.8, and he has led his school to four victories and two draws in their six matches so far this year, which is why he is feeling positive about the match against Ntsonkotha on Saturday.
The Zweliyandila skipper has been playing for the first XV since he was in Grade 10, and his experience has been vital to a team which has just six Matric boys in it this year.
Despite this lack of experience Abongile is confident that his side will be able to handle any challenge that Ntsonkotha can throw at them as he knows that his teammates are fully committed every time they run out onto the pitch.
He said: “We will take them on in the forwards, we have got a hard pack who always give everything and if we can push them backwards then the backline can do their job.”
The Zweliyandila captain will be playing at the back of the scrum on Saturday, and plans to lead by example in order to inspire the younger members of the team. Abongile says his role models are Richie McCaw and Pierre Spies, and he will be looking to creating the same sort of destructive power when his team run out on Saturday.
If the young Zweliyandila outfit manage to follow the lead of their committed captain then they should be able to keep their unbeaten record this season, although Abongile is under no illusions about the task ahead of them.
“Ntsonkotha is always a tough game, so we will have to play very hard if we want to win this one,” he said.
