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The Western Province player would not have thought though when he played his first game in the green and gold here to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the stadium that the five intervening months would have been so heartbreaking and painful for South African rugby.
It will be recalled that in that game the Boks fell behind early but then, with an under-strength team, fought back to win.
Skipper John Smit wasn’t that delighted with the performance, but it was a good win under the circumstances, particularly considering the absentee of some key personnel and the fact it took place just a week after the Super 14 final.
Back then the Boks were reigning Tri-Nations champions and Aplon was coming into international rugby in a team with a winning culture. All that has changed, however, with the Boks going into free-fall on the away leg of the Tri-Nations.
Aplon, who has now played 10 test matches fairly evenly spread between wing and fullback, with some of them being in the starting team and others as a reserve, agrees that his hasn’t been a happy time and it has sullied the joyful experience of winning international caps for his country.
But if you listen to him speak, then it becomes all the more obvious why the Springbok opponents must watch out on this tour.
The South Africans are hurting, and they are determined to bring back some of the pride that was lost in the southern hemisphere season.
“We went through a lot of hurt in the Tri-Nations and there is a big motivation among us to make people proud of us again,” said Aplon.
“After what we went through it would be impossible to just go through the motions and not to be extra motivated. We have a burning desire to get it right and make up for the Tri-Nations.”
Aplon was dropped for Frans Steyn after an excellent performance at fullback against the All Blacks in the FNB Stadium Test match in August.
With Steyn unavailable last week because the game against Ireland didn’t fall into the international window, Aplon got a chance to start again in the Dublin match, and though Steyn has returned to the side now, Aplon remains at fullback because Steyn is needed in the midfield.
Weighing in at just 78 kilograms, Aplon has always had to contend with criticisms of his size, and he does not expect it to go away just because he is playing well. What it does do though is motivate him, and he has a constant determination to improve his play in every match he plays.
In that sense, he believes Wales will be up against a better player than he was when he played against them in June.
“There are several aspects of my game that I have been constantly working on,” he says.
Aplon did not say so when he went in front of the media this week, but he has benefitted a lot from the concentration the Stormers put into their physicality and technique in contact situations.
He now accelerates into the tackle a lot more than he used to, and he punches way above his weight in the collisions.
Yet, inevitably he feels, the size issue just won’t go away: “Every game I play I have to prove that size is irrelevant and it is how you play that matters. I have accepted that it is something that will stay with me as long as I play rugby.”
Aplon is playing his preferred position on Saturday, but he says he is equally comfortable on the wing.
“On the wing you tend to be more of a finisher, at fullback you have more responsibility in that you have got to make the right decisions to keep your team on the front foot, but you do have the luxury of more time and space.”
