The Tuks winger Kabelo Mokoena's ability to score tries is not going unnoticed a quick search on the internet proves it.

"Unbelievable first touch opens up the defence . . . got a hat-trick . . . Kabelo Mokoena and Ethan Burger both scored tries to help the Blue Bulls win the SA Rugby Under-19 Championship . . . grabbed his first start of the 2020 Varsity Cup season with both hands, scoring two tries."

These are only a few of the lines rugby scribes used over the previous two years to sing his praises. 

When reading this, it should be no surprise that Mokoena is so far one of the top try scorers in the Varsity Cup Tournament. He has dotted down on four occasions.

His scoring prowess has led to him being provisionally selected for the "Baby Boks". Mokoena is one of three Tuks players in the national under-20 training squad. The others being Keenan Opperman and Lionel April.

Mokoena admits that there is a definite thrill to it when he scores. He hastily adds that for him, it is never about a personal ego trip. 

"It is about what is best for the team. Whenever I score, and the team wins, I win."

According to Mokoena, he would not have been able to achieve what he had if it was not for his mom and his primary school rugby coach.

"My mom, Tshepiso, is, without a doubt, my most ardent supporter. She sacrificed so much so I could live my dreams, and for that, I will be forever grateful. 

"As far as she is concerned, I can do nothing wrong on the rugby field. I, however, got to remain wary. The moment she thinks I am getting to big for my boots, she will dress me down. Success and remaining humble for her goes hand in hand.

"One of my most special moments so far has been scoring a try against the Shimlas. As the game was televised, my mom got to watch it. I hope it would have made her proud.

"I also got to give credit to my primary school coach, Herman de Bruyn. He is the one who got me to believe in my abilities as a winger. His first advice was as I am big and strong I should go hard with the ball in hand as I will flatten my opponents. He also kept emphasizing that hard work beats talent on any day. It is true.

Despite Mokoena being 1.87m tall and weighing 90kg, he does not consider himself as brute force winger. 

"I would like to think I got certain finesse as a winger. The rival defence often makes a mistake to misjudge my abilities. It is expected that I will try and bash straight through a tackle, but I don't. I like to sidestep my opponents. I actually pride myself that I got the ability to get through the smallest gap in any defence."

On Monday Tuks is playing Wits in an away game. There is all to play for as Wits is currently fourth on the log. A loss could end their Varsity Cup campaign. Tuks is the log leaders.