When Ox helps you to get 'well cooked'
ONE-ON-ONE: From the streets and dusty fields of Mandeni to the ‘big’ stages in Europe.
That, in a nutshell, is the narration of Mawande Mdanda’s story over the last decade.
Mdanda, standing at 189 centimetres and weighing in at 130-odd kilograms, took his first tentative rugby steps at the tender age of 10 in the streets of Mandeni (also Mandini), a town and local municipality in the iLembe District of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
It is situated on the North Coast between Durban and Richards Bay, known for its rich Zulu heritage.
This past weekend, the former Baby Bok (class of 2023) came off the bench in the Champions Cup loss to Sale Sharks and played 33 minutes in his third European appearance – having racked up 114 minutes in Europe’s top tier.
He also has four United Rugby Championship appearances (75 minutes) in the 2025/26 season.
Back to where it all started for the Mandeni-born Mawande.
As a member of the UShaka Warriors, the then 11-year-old caught the eye of coaches, and that recognition resulted in his eventual participation in the iQhawe Week a few years later.
His outstanding performances at the iQhawe Week were followed by scholarship offers, including Jeppe Boys High School, Westville Boys High School, and Maritzburg College.
He opted for the College colours of red, black and white.
In his matric year, Mawande was offered two junior contracts, one from the Cheetahs and the other from the Bulls.
His choice was Pretoria, where he played for the Bulls’ age-group teams and in 2023, he was a member of their Under-21 side and was named for the South African Under-20 side.
Mawande admitted the iQhawe Week in 2018 had changed his life.
“My parents could not afford to send me to university, so when I got the scholarship to Maritzburg College, I worked hard to also get a university scholarship,” he told @JanDKrugby.
His Baby Bok journey included some high-profile names – including Coetzee Le Roux, JF Van Heerden, Paul de Villiers, Imad Khan, Jean Smith, Ethan Hooker, Jurenzo Julius and Hakeem Kunene.
“Of that Baby Bok team, it was just me and Ethan Hooker that did not attend the Under-16 and Under-18 national camps,” he said, adding: “That [2023] was my first taste of a national team.
“It was great getting the recognition,” he said of a tournament where he featured in three of the five Baby Bok games.
In 2024, he played seven Currie Cup games for the Sharks, but injury limited him to just four Currie Cup games in 2025.
However, this season he has already featured in four URC matches and three Champions Cup outings, starting in the Round One loss to Toulouse at Stade Ernest-Wallon.
However, his best ‘experiences’ are coming from the Sharks’ training sessions.
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“In training, every week you are scrumming against a guy like Ox [Retshegofaditswe Nché], the best in the world,” he told @JanDKrugby.
Other World Cup-winning front row stars that can help guide the 22-year-old through the mysteries and quagmires of the set pieces are Mbongeni Mbonambi and Vincent Koch.
Not to mention the mentoring of players like Eben Etzebeth and Siya Kolisi.
However, it is going head-to-head with the best loosehead in the business, Nché, that produces the most valuable lessons.
“It certainly helps me in the game, because I am scrumming with the best in the world.
“You can never get a more valuable lesson than facing Ox.
“After training or after a [scrumming] session, I will ask questions of Ox [Nché] and Vincent [Koch].
“The Springboks are all great in helping the younger players with their development, and we learn as much as possible from them.”
Mdanda said that while set pieces are his primary focus, he is working on developing his general skills, including being more productive at the breakdown.
“I do feel comfortable with the ball in hand, but my primary job is the set pieces.”
Even with Springbok dreams in his future, he said his goal for now is to keep on learning from the big-name stars.
“I want to get ‘cooked’ as much as possible, because I am still in a development phase of my career,” he said, adding: “I am still very ‘raw’ and have a lot of room for improvement.”
While the 2027 World Cup in Australia might be too soon, it is not unrealistic to expect Mdanda to feature in the 2031 version in the United States.
He’ll be 28 by then and would have been in the system for a long time.
“It is every player’s dream to play for the Boks, but I am realistic,” he added.
Defence is one aspect of the game he enjoys most, making those big hits.
@JanDKrugby
@rugby365com
