Phiwayinkosi 'Rambo' Kubheka is wasting no time channelling the momentum of his World Rugby U20 Championship triumph, with the Sharks prop set to come off the bench against the DHL Stormers XXIII at DHL Stadium on Saturday (1 August, 15h00) while also preparing to extract every lesson he can from Ma'a Nonu's imminent arrival in Durban.
Nonu is joining the Sharks for the next few months as part of a high-performance mentorship programme aimed at the club's emerging talent — and Kubheka has a specific agenda for the two-time World Cup winner.
"The one thing I would ask him about is mindset," said Kubheka. "People talk about rugby being a physical game, but it's also deeply mental. I want to understand how he's been able to keep his mind in equilibrium with his physicality and how he's consistently maintained that mental sharpness over so many years at the top."
Kubheka captained the Junior Springboks in their opening pool match against Uruguay on the way to lifting the title, and admits the scale of the achievement is still settling in. "It feels so surreal. You play to win, and then when you win, in that moment it doesn't quite feel like you've won. But then as time goes by you think, wow, we've actually accomplished something this big. It's breathtaking."
He believes the U20 environment has sharpened him for the Currie Cup grind. "It's helped me a lot, especially physically. Your body gets used to the collisions and you get exposed to the physicality. I think the Under-20 level is actually quite similar to the Currie Cup in that regard."
Kubheka credited head coach JP Pietersen and the new Sharks coaching staff for easing his reintegration, describing their player-first philosophy as one that aligns with his own values.