I Am Makazole Mapimpi

They call him “the Finisher” and with good reason. Whenever Makazole Mapimpi touches the ball, it turns into tryline gold.

The World Cup winner, try-scoring class act who became the first Springbok to score a try in a Rugby World Cup final has a story that is not just inspiring. It is the stuff that dreams are made of.

> > > Watch the 'I am Makazole Mapimpi' story on DStv Catch Up . . .

Mapimpi is exactly the rags to riches story that was brought about by transformation in South Africa. A player who never attended a prestigious school, who was never at the Craven week and didn’t receive the same drafting as school stars signed up by unions.

In fact, it took Mapimpi to the ripe age of 25 – an age that some rugby players have already contemplated retiring – to finally get his breakthrough.

A graduate of the dustbowls of the Eastern Cape, he stomped his way to the tryline but never really caught any scout’s eye. Until he was finally given a chance for the Border Bulldogs, straight out of club rugby.

From there it was a rollercoaster ride, from Border to the Kings, with the Cheetahs and eventually the Sharks all securing his try-scoring prowess. His breakthrough season in 2017 saw him score a massive 27 tries in three competitions. No one ever bothered to ask if he could find a tryline, just give him the ball and it would come.

But Mapimpi’s story is more than the average rise from poverty. He is an inspiration that has made the eyes of many a township youngster sparkle, who has had the cheers of a nation on his back and who knows all too well how to grasp an opportunity.

His try in the Rugby World Cup final sent a nation into rapture and somehow it was fitting for him to break another ceiling.

A Springbok hero with a story that would easily be turned into a movie script. Makazole Mapimpi deserves your attention.

“I Am Makazole Mapimpi” is also available on DStv Now and DStv Catch Up, so if you'd like to watch it now - > > > CLICK HERE . . .