One of the coolest stories to come out of the Springbok camp for quite some time is the anecdote shared by Rassie Erasmus around how tighthead prop Asenathi Ntlabakanye got himself into the best shape of his career.
Once weighing in at roughly 150kg, Ntlabakanye has undergone some serious conditioning work to shed a few excess kilos (around 15kg) to now be in the best possible shape for his Springbok debut.
Earlier this week, Erasmus revealed that the 26-year-old has been driving out from Johannesburg to scrum guru Daan Human’s farm in Bloemfontein – about a four-hour drive – to work on his game and conditioning.
Dubbing it ‘Kamp Daandraad’, the Springbok coach has also shared videos showing him hard at work on the farm.
The Springbok prop has undergone a real transformation
In another post, Erasmus also shared clips of youngster Jan-Hendrik Wessels also going through a similar training regime.
Erasmus said Ntlabakanye’s commitment has yielded dramatic physical changes, and emphasised how Human’s specialised approach extends beyond traditional alignment camps.
“He’s dropped 15 to 18kgs and let’s hope he can do what he does at Test match level, which will be great,” Erasmus said.
“Don’t want to mention names but we’ve done it with three or four other players, also in the front row specifically because that’s something we struggle to get right in an alignment camp because Daan loves to work the core.
“In Asenathi we’ve got someone who we see has got an unbelievable touch and feel for the game, just like Neethling [Fouche]; Ox has got an unbelievable feel for the game.
“Obviously he’s a phenomenal player, has got the talent, it’s the moment he understands that there’s a helluva lot to work on to be a part of the Boks at this stage and [take over] from the world’s No 1 [tighthead],” Erasmus added.
“When Daan says ‘come to Bloemfontein’ [it helps] and from getting on a bicycle, carrying stuff there, gym sessions and scrum sessions… It’s been going on for three-and-a-half weeks, and even prior to that.
“These two weeks [in camp] were great, but those previous three weeks will benefit him even more.”
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