Theo Cabango is determined to carve out his own identity in the sporting world, as Cardiff prepare to welcome Glasgow Warriors to the Arms Park on Saturday (KO 5.15pm).
As his brother, Ben, prepares to take on Austria in Wales’ crucial World Cup qualifying match this evening, academy wing Theo has been busy hitting his own milestones in the blue and black jersey of Cardiff.
The youngster impressed on his introduction to first team action in December’s European double-header and earned an United Rugby Championship debut against DHL Stormers in Cape Town
Cabango admits it’s been a surreal few months in the Blue and Black jersey, but is excited to push for further involvement with the first team at Cardiff Arms Park.
“I don’t know why but it feels that my whole career has been pretty weird so far,” reflected the former Plasmawr and Glantaf pupil.
“I was very unlucky with injuries when I was younger and all of the sudden it’s catching up with me a bit.
“It’s quite surreal when you look at what’s happened and what I’ve achieved so far.
“It’s just been weird to go from lockdowns and Wales under-20 straight into senior training and matches. It’s definitely been a step up for me.
“Having any game for the seniors is huge and I just want to progress and train with them. You train so hard to perfect stuff and you want to put it to test in matches. It’s unbelievable to play here at the Arms Park.
“My family has always been very supportive and always pushed us to do good and telling us that.
“Every time my nan would watch Ben playing football or me rugby she’d be telling us that we’ll be playing for Wales soon.
“It’s always nice to hear stuff like that and of course watching my brother was a heads up of what’s to come. He’s shown me what can happen if you push hard and do well.
“It’s always been a dream for me to get to the same level as him but also make my own name. I love my brother, but at the same time I don’t want to just be Ben’s little brother.
“He gives me a bit of advice, and he wasn’t bad at rugby himself, to be fair. I always ask him for little advice.
“But mainly we always try to not focus on the sports and see how each other are. It’s nice to have a break away from it.”
Cabango performed admirably in defeat against Stormers, and believes his side can use lessons from Cape Town as they host third-placed Glasgow on Saturday.
“It’s always difficult out in South Africa, especially because the weather and climate is so different," he added.
“To be fair to Stormers, they were unbelievable and their game-plan was spot on. They made it hard for us, as you could see, but it was really disappointing for us.
“We definitely took a lesson from that but for this week we’ll concentrate on ourselves. We’ll face Glasgow and try to get a nice win for the club.”