Fresh from winning this year’s Carling Currie Cup First Division title, latest Sanlam Boland Cavaliers signing, Mthokozisi Gumede, says he wants to hit the ground running at his new team.
Gumede joined up with Boland on Sunday, a day after helping his former team, Novavit Griffons, beat the Valke 51-44 in the First Division final in Kempton Park. But for Gumede, there was no time to celebrate the win.
He jumped back on the team bus to Welkom, packed up most of his belongings and jumped into his car to hit the road to his new home in Wellington.
“It was lovely to finish off with a win with the Griffons, especially after things did not go according to plan in the SA Cup this year,” Gumede says.
“But I could not get to celebrate because I had to drive down to Wellington immediately after the game. I left there about 3 am and got to Wellington at around 2.30 pm,” just in time for the front rower to watch his new teammates beat the Toyota Cheetahs in their Carling Currie Cup Premier Division opening game.
“It was a great performance, hey. We took the foot off the pedal a bit in that second half, but it was a great fight in the end to the W[in].”
The KwaZulu-Natal-born prop says he would have loved to join up with the Boland earlier, after getting a call during the SA Cup campaign about a possible move to Wellington.
“The first few days here have been lovely,” says Gumede about his move. “I got to hang out with the boys after the game and met with coach Hawies Fourie as well.
“They are very good guys here, and I also know a couple of guys here, so it has made it so much easier to have made the move.”
One of the players that is very familiar to Gumede is his old Durban High School and KZN Youth team teammate, Sibusiso Sangweni.
“There are quite a few guys that I know here that I played with at the Griffons, like Michael Benadie, Ludio Williams, Doctor Booysen, HP van Schoor, and Duran Hoffman. I also played with Sibusiso before at the U13 Craven Week, and we went to the same school. We know each other very well. It is lovely to have him here to show me the ropes. I know he will help me a lot here.”
Signed as a loosehead prop, Gumede wants to show he also falls into the category of a hybrid player like Springbok prop Thomas du Toit, who can anchor both sides of the scrum.
“The journey started at tight head, and then one day at the Griffons, we were short on loosehead props for one game, and I was asked to jump in there. Everything went well, and then I just started taking it from there. Coming to Boland, I have signed as a loosehead, but I am a loosehead that can cover both sides of the scrum.”