Who is Asenathi Ntlabakanye? The unconventional 153kg future Springbok

The Springboks’ plotting and planning for the 2025 season is now under way, with 56 domestic players, including Asenathi Ntlabakanye, set to gather in Cape Town for the first national camp of the year.

The alignment camp, which is set to conclude on Wednesday 12 March, will comprise two gymnasium sessions and a series of boardroom meetings to get the players up to speed on the requirements and expected standards for season.

The group consists 18 members of the 2023 Rugby World Cup-winning squad, an additional 22 capped national players, and 16 uncapped players.

And Ntlabakanye is one of those 16 uncapped squad newbies after a string of impressive performances for the Lions throughout the current campaign as well as in previous seasons.

He earns his first invitation to a Bok alignment camp, along with six other Lions players (three capped Springboks and three uncapped hopefuls).

Who is Asenathi Ntlabakanye?

Ntlabakanye came through the Lions pathway, where he shone in the junior ranks before working his way into the senior team, in which he currently plays a pivotal role in the URC.

As the Lions’ first-choice tighthead prop, he is one of the hottest prospects in South African rugby at the moment.

But before his rise to prominence in professional rugby, Ntlabakanye attended St Stithians College in Johannesburg, played Craven Week for Golden Lions across all age-grades and represented the Junior Springboks (SA U20) not once but twice, following his selection in both 2018 and 2019.

Where is he from?

Ntlabakanye is Plettenberg Bay, regarded as one of the most beautiful coastal towns on South Africa’s renowned Garden Route.

How old is Ntlabakanye?

He is 25 years old and was born on 15 April 1999.

What is his height and weight?

Ntlabakanye weighs 153 kg and stands 1.83 meters tall.

What position does he play?

Tighthead prop.

What does he bring to the Springboks?

With the Springboks in the market for a long-term replacement for Frans Malherbe (33) at tighthead prop, Ntlabakanye could well be the answer (the current backups are 34-year-old Vincent Koch, 29-year-old Thomas du Toit and 30-year-old Wilco Louw).

For a man with 153kg on him, Ntlabakanye carries his weight well and is blessed with an unbelievably high work-out and good discipline.

Apart from executing his primary role in the scrum to near-perfection, Ntlabakanye has several other features that belie his bulldozing frame and put him a cut above the rest.

As a rampant ball-carrier, an accurate tackler and a rare breed of front rower blessed with deceptive explosiveness off the mark and a turn of pace, and soft and exquisite handling skills, Ntlabakanye will add another dimension to the Springboks’ already stacked forward arsenal on attack, while serving as another brick wall in the Boks’ already suffocating defensive structure.

Does Ntlabakanye have social media?

The front rower can be found on Instagram under the handle @asap_ntlaba. He can also be found on X (formerly Twitter) as @asenathintlaba3.

PEAK ATHLETICISM.

Asenathi Ntlabakanye, on the move. pic.twitter.com/q92fuPQYnG

— Tight Five Rugby (@TightFive_Rugby) September 15, 2024

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An absolutely 𝙈𝘼𝙎𝙎𝙄𝙑𝙀 bump from Asenathi Ntlabakanye this weekend, who weighs in at over 150kgs for the Emirates Lions in the front row 💪 pic.twitter.com/swduEpSQtZ

— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) December 5, 2023