Player Focus: The Springboks new flyer S’busiso Nkosi

The Springboks have called up young Sharks winger, Sibusiso Nkosi, who has enjoyed a strong start to his professional career with the Durban-based franchise.

The 21-year-old breaks the mold of a traditional South African winger, usually known for being fast and evasive. He weighs in just short of 100kg and stands at 1.83m tall.

Gifted with speed to burn Nkosi, better known by his teammates as 'Skisha', got his first test of provincial rugby when he was selected for the Pumas U16 Grant Khomo side, before he moved to Johannesburg and attended Jeppe Boys High School.

After high school, he moved to Durban to join the Sharks, where he made eleven starts for the Sharks U19 team in the 2015.

In March 2016 he was included in the final South Africa Under-20 squad for the 2016 World Rugby Under 20 Championship tournament. He started in the opening 3 matches for the U20s before he suffered a thigh injury which ruled him out of the remainder of the competition.

Although he was included in the Sharks 2016 Currie Cup squad, he failed to make his debut but was still included in their 2017 Super Rugby squad.

He made his Super Rugby debut against the Western Force and scored his first try against the Sunwolves 2 weeks later. 

The youngster has since been in fine form for the Sharks in this year's Currie Cup and is the joint top try scorer after 9 rounds of action with 7 tries. 

The flyer has a mix of some of the best wingers to have played for the Springboks as he has the finishing ability and speed of Bryan Habana, the strength, and defence of JP Pieterson. 

He is however not a finished product and will make mistakes, he may need to improve his kicking and aerial ability but Nkosi is a star for the future.