Humble Makazole Mapimpi plays down achievements despite growing legend

Mapimpi was in excellent form against Os Lobos as he crossed for a hat-trick of tries â- all in the second half â- to move up to fourth on South Africa's all-time leading try-scorer's list.

The 33-year-old has now scored 30 tries in 43 Tests for the Springboks with only Jacques Fourie, Joost van der Westhuizen and Bryan Habana having crossed the whitewash on more occasions in the green and gold.

While Fourie and Van der Westhuizen have scored 32 and 38 tries respectively, which are within Mapimpi's reach, Habana's tally of 67 five-pointers seems unattainable - but Mapimpi seems unfazed either way.

"It's a good thing scoring tries, breaking those records that have been there, but it's not something I am focused on," he told reporters in Bloemfontein following the Springboks' win.

"It's something that I can't control, my focus now is on small things that people can't see and it's only the coaches that can see that. Scoring tries is something I have been doing since back in the days at Border.

"It's a good thing that sometimes worries me because people want me to score and it's a lot of pressure especially when you see those numbers and people pushing for me to break some records.

"I try to put that other stuff on the side and try to focus on my game and make sure I do the things the coach wants me to do on the field.

"I'm not really worried about that, if it happens it'll depend on how the game is flowing, and if there's an opportunity for me to finish. I'm thankful to my team-mates who create those opportunities for me. It's not about me, it's about the team."

Despite his excellent try-scoring record, Mapimpi lost his spot in the Boks' first-choice starting line-up to Kurt-Lee Arendse, who is another prolific try-scorer.

Mapimpi continues to work on improving other aspects of his game and believes being honest with himself and following the advice of his coaches is what keeps him in the mix for the Springboks despite his advancing years.

"I think it's important to be honest with yourself first before other people speak and also do what the coaches want from you," he said.

"This is something I have been doing since I started playing at the Border Bulldogs, it's something that encourages me, that's why I said I have to be honest with myself, I must know what's right and wrong that I have done and then go back to the drawing board for introspection and see where I can improve.

"That's what has helped me to stay in the game for a long time."

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