A Durban High School product, Simphiwe Ngobese came through the Hollywoodbets Sharks junior ranks as a powerful, mobile front-rower comfortable on both sides of the scrum. His rise was rapid: selected for the Junior Springboks in 2025, he started all three U20 Rugby Championship matches before starting four games - including the final against New Zealand - as South Africa won the World Rugby U20 Championship.
Back in Durban, he joined the Sharks' 2025 Currie Cup campaign straight off the world title, was a try-scorer in the U21 final as the Sharks claimed the 2025 SA Rugby U21 Cup, and made his European debut off the bench against Toulouse in the Champions Cup in December 2025. He started at prop in each of the Sharks XV's opening 2026 Currie Cup fixtures.
A world champion at 20 and already a first-team regular, Ngobese looks every inch a cornerstone of the Sharks' next-generation front row.