Lwazi to lead Impi charge

LWAZI Ngcungama (23) is a pretty cool customer. He sports a mohawk, is also known as Calvin, and is confident of his team’s success after being named as captain of the UKZN Impi rugby team for the Varsity Shield campaign this year.

Coach John Mitchell made the announcement after UKZN Impi beat a Duikers Invitation XV 54-0 at the Howard College grounds in Durban last Saturday.

Lwazi said the captaincy was an honour, but a surprise. “There are a lot of guys around who could have done it. Even the captain from last year is in the squad,” he said.

To be quite honest, he has been somewhat overwhelmed by the response from his friends. “They’re all really pleased,” he said.

He’s a product of Port Shepstone High and is very proud of his roots. Interestingly, he wasn’t captain of the Sheppie team in his matric year, 2008.

“We nominated Graham Odendaal. We thought he was the right leader and he was, he did a great job, plus we beat Suidies that year,” said Lwazi.

At school, Lwazi played hooker. Damien Williams, who was on the coaching staff, described him as a very good player. “He was a hooker who played like a flank,” he said.

Lwazi said he learnt some valuable lessons while at Sheppie. “I was taught to play for the badge and to leave nothing out there. I was told that if we were tired and couldn’t walk at the end of the game, that the coach would come and pick us up and carry us off,” he said.

After school Lwazi switched to flank. “I was too small (bulkwise) to play hooker. I tried the backline for a while, playing centre, wing and fullback but realised that no, this is not my position, and moved back to flank,” he laughed.

He plays number ‘6’ and has thrived in his role as a fetcher. “I love being out on the field. I pride myself on being all over the park,” he said.

A highlight in 2013 was being named in the Sharks extended squad for the Currie Cup trials.

He’s hoping he will be selected for the Sharks Vodacom Cup squad this year. That’s one of his goals.

Another one is completing his sports science degree.

Lwazi has also played some sevens rugby, where he switched back to hooker for this format, but prefers the 15 man game. “It’s tiring, you have to be top-notch for that,” he chuckled.

Off the field, he enjoys ‘chilling’ with friends. “I enjoy hanging out at the beach but it’s just been too hot recently,” he said. He tried some golf at the recent launch, but admitted that he failed dismally!

While he has been reading Richie McCaw’s book, he has actually copied his game on the way Kieran Reid plays.

“The way he leads and his style of play is awesome,” he said.

He’s looking forward to the coming season. “We have an excellent coaching staff and quality players. I can’t wait,” he said.

The first game is next Monday and will be televised.