The Rugby Paper online recently sat down with three Harlequins Women‘s players as they look ahead to their “Game Changer” fixture with Wasps Women on 13th May. Here, South African star Babalwa Latsha speaks to Nick Powell.
Babalwa Latsha says she is hugely proud to be South Africa‘s first female professional rugby player, and hopes her journey can inspire more young women and girls from her background to take the next step.
Latsha, 29, grew up in a township in the Western Cape of South Africa called Khayelitsha, and has progressed all the way to playing for her country before she joined Harlequins in the Premier 15s after last year’s Rugby World Cup.
She relished how the way the top league in women’s rugby tested her early on with the number of fixtures and competitiveness of the division, and now feels comfortable with the way she has progressed.
“Playing here and getting to play every single week has been an incredible experience so far,” she said. “This is probably been the most rugby I’ve played in all of my career which is great for my individual career and I think the Harlequins environment is conducive to that.
“It’s been a great challenge for me, both physically and mentally, the first couple of weeks was about a lot of adaptation for me.
“Coming from a completely different world into another and spend the first three weeks day-in-day-out trying to settle in, trying to find my rhythm within the club, work out how things are done and how we play, was quite challenging, but it’s one of the things I’ve learned to embrace and I think there’s so much positivity that can come out of that.”
When she first went professional in early 2020, playing in Spain, and subsequently established herself as the leading South African women’s rugby player, Latsha didn’t initially acknowledge the significance of her achievement.
But once she was made aware of the ground-breaking step she had taken, she was determined to use the positive outcome in her life to inspire others who had aspirations of making a similar journey.
“If I’ll be honest initially when I got the offer I was super excited in that moment, it was only once I signed and when the news broke that it was much bigger than me just wanting to play overseas.
“It sort of elevated me into a space where I could then be of better influence to South Africa women’s rugby. More than anything on a deeper level it was more of a validation that in fact there are loads of opportunities within the rugby space, and it didn’t really have anything to do with where I was from or my background.”
Latsha candidly spoke about her upbringing, and the resilience she has been able to develop as a result of it.
“Where I’m from, people like me struggle to make it far in life,” she added. “So being involved in rugby and having it as a safe space saved my life a lot. The township where I’m from was really rough with high crime rates and drug abuse. It’s just not a good place for anyone to grow up in, especially a young girl who has big aspirations.
“A lot of the time I had no choice but to be resilient because I’ve often had to break new ground of some sort, and with the responsibilities I have I can’t afford not to be strong, I can’t afford not to take chances, nor can I avoid to back out of any challenge.
“Where I’ve come from has built me into the person that I am, I’m able to endure, I’m able to commit, and I’m able to dedicate myself to something because I understand what’s at stake.”
That resilience and determination has helped her to reach new heights with her rugby, and having arrived at the place she has now, she is hopeful others can follow in her footsteps.
“I think about that a lot now more than anything, and it grounds me. It’s why I do what I do, why I push myself, and I just really want to have a positive impact on my community.
“It’s really not so much about me anymore, it’s the type of narrative that we’re trying to change. It’s the type of life stories that we’re trying to change and make right. The Siya Kolisi story is a good example of that, he also comes from a township but has gone onto do amazing things.
“I want to show other young girls in my community that anything is possible. When an opportunity arrives, one should really take it and allow it to change their life.”
Feature Image Credit: The Hatch Group
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