As Springbok fans start to eagerly look to the future, to changes and young players who are coming through the system and making their mark to continue the team’s dominance on the world stage, one “old dog” is contemplating a very different type of future - one that sees him away from the game inspiring others.
Makazole Mapimpi, the popular winger from Mdantsane. D-Rex to his friends. The scorer of South Africa’s first try ever in a World Cup final. A legend in the Bok ranks, a hero to millions across the country.
Mapimpi knows his time in the Green and Gold is limited. He is 34 now. And wingers with scrum caps that can stop anyone in a phone booth are becoming a dime a dozen. There are those who believe the culling of the old guard has begun and it is just a matter of time until his name misses out on squad selection.
The evergreen reality is that he is playing some of the best rugby of his life right now for the Hollywoodbets Sharks. Ever the competitor, D-Rex is not going extinct anytime soon - not on his watch.
Selected for the current November tour, he is happy to play whatever role is necessary for team success. But at the back of his mind, he knows the clock is ticking.
That's why, when asked about the 2027 World Cup, Mapimpi is honest and forthright. For a man who has said very little in interviews across the years, his views on this could not be stronger.
“Going to the World Cup, which is in 2027, I'll be 37. For me to be part of the team in 2027, I don't think this is something that's going to happen. I'm here right now trying to find the life after rugby. That's very important,” Mapimpi explains.
HONEST WITH MYSELF
“I’ll be 37, and I need to be honest with myself. I don’t think that I can actually reach the World Cup because of the intensity of rugby that is always increasing. In my position - where I play on the field - I’m not a flank, I’m not a prop. Only a prop can really make it with certainty to a World Cup at that age.
“But I’m not saying that I’m just going to be outside. I’m just going to do what I have to do, which is training hard, doing my work and interacting with the coaches. The rest will take care of itself.”
Mapimpi smiles when the word retirement comes up. It is something he has given a lot of thought about. And he is in the process of organising the next phase of his life, so that when it comes, it is a smooth transition.
“I’m planning to still play rugby,” he laughs. “I’ll see when I’m going to retire. But to be honest, I’m not saying that I will just give up.” Giving up was never an option for Mapimpi, whose story of rising from poverty to a World Cup winner is well told in Chasing the Sun and his own documentary, which was on SuperSport a few months ago.
Raised by his grandmother after his mother, brother and sister passed away while he was young, he languished in the Border system until he was spotted for the Southern Kings. He made his first class debut in 2017 at the age of 27 - and scored 11 tries in 14 appearances to announce his arrival on the national stage.
A move to the Cheetahs and more game time was enough for him to make his debut under Rassie Erasmus in 2018. A move to the Sharks has produced more than 80 caps and countless stories of tries that have made him a legend.
THAT WORLD CUP FINAL TRY
And then there was the try in the World Cup final. Mapimpi’s touchdown, coming from a no-look pass from his Border friend and team-mate Lukhanyo Am, sent a country into rapture.
In 2021 he was instrumental in the British and Irish Lions series, scoring the try that levelled the series for the Boks and being named man of the match in one of the most consequential performances for the Boks in their time together under Erasmus.
Now on 45 Bok caps, he knows time is running out to get to 50, but with all that he has achieved, those stats are nice to talk about, but don’t mean much. Quality, not quantity has always been his motto.
And the competition is rife.
“ Yeah, I think it's life,” Mapimpi reflects. There's people that have been there and are no longer Springboks now. And I think it's very important in life to understand the dynamics of rugby as you try to balance that so it cannot get into your head.
“You need to have honest conversations with yourself, and say I can’t block the talent that is coming through the ranks. It is something that needs to be there, growing as a team that is going forward. It's not about me that I want to achieve everything.
“I think I did my part at the same time. But having youngsters coming in the team is very important, not just for me, for South Africa and for the coaches as well. I was one of the guys trying to get through the ranks and build a career. My job now is to lift that guy who is coming through the ranks, and advise him. There was someone before me that did that for me and that is my role now.”
50 CAPS LOOMING?
But does the 50-cap thing ever come up?
“That's hard, eh? I think the way I started playing rugby, I never thought about even getting there. Yes, I want to, but I cannot control that. But the only thing that I can control is just to work hard, just to be part of the team.
“But it is bigger than me. It is what is best for the team.”
Mapimpi recently partnered with the Hollywoodbets Foundation to start his own Foundation that targets talented youngsters from disadvantaged backgrounds and tries to uplift them to fulfill their potential.
It’s something he is passionate about and where he wants his post-rugby career to go.
“My foundation is Mapimpi Foundation and I think it started four years ago. The reason why, the story behind it, it's where I'm coming from. So normally people know my journey from the village until here.
“I used to play without boots, so the first phase was small things, taking balls and boots to kids where they don’t have them. The kindness of someone who thinks about someone who doesn't have anything, it is something that I picked up from others and try to emulate. I know how people struggle back home.
“I also used to walk to school without shoes, all of this stuff. So now I'm in the position that I can actually use my name to help people. It's something that I'm trying to do as a foundation.
“But it is more than that. It goes to gender-based violence, education because I believe in terms of that we always different and we're not going to be rugby players forever but education is very important for the kids as well.
“It’s more than just a passion, it is deeper for me. It's my heart because it's something that I grew up with and then understanding the dynamics of people that struggle at the same time, trying to help people because it did work for myself.”
Mapimpi may go off into the sunset, but his passion to bring new talent through, to find opportunities for them to flourish and to be a role model for them won’t change.
And while the World Cup try was special, that could be his greatest achievement in the future if he succeeds.