Rulani Mokwena gives Lorch advice after Bafana snub – ‘Look at Themba Zwane’

MC Alger coach Rulani Mokwena has weighed in on the debate surrounding Thembinkosi Lorch’s exclusion from the Bafana Bafana squad.

Lorch has been in great form for Moroccan giants Wydad Athletic Club, scoring five goals and adding three assists in nine games, but that has not been enough to convince Bafana coach Hugo Broos to include him in his squad.

With the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations coming up in December, some fans and pundits have been calling for Lorch’s inclusion due to his scintillating form but Broos has made it clear that the 32-year-old is not in his plan as his age does not represent the future.

That stance has not gone down well with a section of observers but Mokwena has a different view of things.

What has Rulani told Thembinkosi Lorch?

While lauding Broos for doing a good job and calling for all to support the coach’s decisions, the former Mamelodi Sundowns coach has urged Lorch not to lose hope but keep doing his talking on the pitch, as a window of opportunity could be opened just like it happened with Themba Zwane.

“And for Lorch, he just needs to have a look at Themba Zwane as a source of inspiration, because Themba was in the same position as that he is in at this moment in time, just a few months ago,” Mokwena told the media as quoted by iDiski Times, bringing back memories of the past when the Sundowns captain had also been cast aside before Broos had a change of heart in September 2022.

“And I remember saying to Mshishi ‘You’ve got to be so good – so so good that it’s difficult to ignore you’. And that’s exactly what Mshishi did.

“You know Themba Zwane was so good that even though the coach at that time felt that he didn’t want Themba Zwane for reasons that we had to respect, for sure, also because he mentioned them.

Mokwena feels Bafana door not locked for Nyoso

“And also, to the credit of Hugo Broos, he mentioned that that was one of the things that he felt he, in the earlier parts of his reign as a head coach, he had gotten wrong – and for a coach to say this publicly, you’ve got to also give a lot of credit to Hugo Broos for this.”

Mokwena feels Broos could still change his mind on Lorch, just like he did with Zwane, and all Nyoso needs to do is to ensure he stays in top form at Wydad.

“And so that means that if he could rescind his opinion about Themba Zwane, I think for sure he if Lorch continues the way he is doing – I hear very good things from Wydad, from the president, who I speak to quite regularly, about his conduct and about his professionalism, about his performance, about his character in the change room, if he continues like this for sure there are a lot of possibilities to be reinducted in the Bafana fold,” he added.

Mokwena has a history with Lorch as he signed him for Sundowns in January 2024 from Orlando Pirates before handing him another chance again at Wydad, initially on loan in January this year, before he made the move permanent in August after an impressive spell.