Leolin Zas was delighted to reach a half-century of DHL Stormers caps after running out at Thomond Park, the latest milestone on what has been a remarkable journey for the talented finisher.
Zas made his 50th appearance for the DHL Stormers in the Vodacom URC clash with Munster in Limerick.
The speedster from Villiersdorp was a teenager when he burst onto the scene in 2016, making a try-scoring DHL Stormers debut at Newlands in the season-opener.
He has since gone on to score another 24 tries in 48 matches, but there have been some considerable highs and lows along the way.
Disaster struck for Zas in early 2017 when he suffered a horrific leg injury in a pre-season match. That was the start of a long spell on the sidelines and he would leave Cape Town to start afresh with the Hollywoodbets Sharks in Durban, where he spent a few seasons.
Zas returned to the DHL Stormers in 2020 and got a long-awaited opportunity to impress in the inaugural Vodacom URC season in 2021, which he grasped with two hands, finishing as top try-scorer in the title-winning campaign.
“It’s a dream come true,” Zas said on reaching the landmark.
“I never would have thought, as a laaitie coming from Villiersdorp, that I would even play for the DHL Stormers one day. To play 50 games means a lot to me.
“I have been through a few bumps and bruises, some struggles, but it’s a massive honour. There are few words to explain it.”
Zas is currently part of a talented contingent of outside backs on tour, which includes Warrick Gelant, Angelo Davids and new signings in Springbok wing Courtnall Skosan and England’s Ben Loader.
“I’ve known Warrick for a few years now. I love spending time with him. Just to collaborate with him, is a massive honour for me as well,” Zas said.
“His knowledge of the game is very good. I do spend a lot of time with him and learn a lot from him. We just complement each other a lot and give each other a lot of confidence.
“The combinations between me, him, Ben Loader, as well as Angelo and Courtnall, I think we understand each other pretty well.”
The DHL Stormers are in Cardiff for the final leg of their four-week tour, where they will look to end things off with a morale-boosting victory.
“On tour, spending more time with each other, we can put more time towards thinking about our game and what went wrong, what we can fix. I think that’s a positive thing,” Zas said.
“In Limerick, we put on a proper performance and did what our coaches asked us to. We stuck to what we wanted to do.
“This week is Cardiff. It’s going to be another tough game but we really want to get the win and go home with some confidence.”