Pending selection Oga Mabaya will make his 100th appearance for the 1st XV this Saturday when Hoppers take on Sedgley Park.
Born in Zimbabwe Oga moved to Preston in 2005 and soon joined the Mini Junior setup at Hoppers under the watchful eye of ex-1st XV prop Lloyd Bell. Oga went on to make his st XV debut off the bench at Leicester Lions on the 2nd of April 2011 and went on to start in the four remaining games that season even scoring a try at Hull. He did however make an appearance on the team sheet well before April when he was an unused replacement for a home game against Westoe back in September 2010.
Speaking ahead of the game Oga said “I am very proud and honoured to play 100 games for the Hoppers. I remember my first appearance for the Hoppers away at Leicester Lions all those years ago. It has been a long road but with the help of a few ex first team props Lloyd Bell, John Peterson and Dave Chadwick (Chaddy), I would not have been able to go as far as I have and for that I thank you.”
Oga has made the ninth highest number of appearances of a front row forward for Hoppers in League Games. The top 10 can be seen below.
Dave Chadwick 229 (135-94)
Richie Sands 175 (155-20)
John Peterson 149 (126-23)
Pete Altham 121 (116-5)
Karl Fenton 114 (103-11)
Dan Madden 113 (67-46)
Pete Carter 112 (100-12)
Phil Mills 106 (81-25)
Oga Mabaya 99 (67-32)
His 99 games consist of 67 starts and 32 appearances off the bench and his scoring record is four tries.
Congratulations on 100 Oga, here’s to 200!
Work Hard, Keep Pushing
Earlier this year Oga was the subject of a short film put together by former 1st XV Head Coach Garth Dew which tells Oga’s inspiring story.
