Trailblazing Springbok Latsha loving life at Harlequins

Harlequins prop Babalwa Latsha is enjoying the opportunity to play in the Women’s Premiership and hopes to transfer her skills and knowledge to her international side, South Africa.

Latsha made history in 2020 as the first African women’s rugby player to go professional.

The 29-year-old tighthead prop moved to Harlequins in February 2023 and Latsha is loving her time at the south west London club, having made 20 appearances, scoring an impressive seven tries across two seasons.

Despite currently being seventh in the league and 23 points off the playoffs, Latsha is optimistic about the rest of the season as the Women’s Premiership takes a pause due to the ongoing Six Nations.

Latsha told The Rugby Paper: “I’m enjoying it a lot. The rugby’s great. The people are fantastic to be around; the club is thriving. It’s a great melting pot of different people and nationalities, and there’s so much that we can feed off one another, which I think is quite special.

“There’s a high level of professionalism within the club. But also, a good balance between that and allowing players to express themselves and be who they want to be.”

Latsha, who has 22 Springbok caps to her name and represented South Africa at the 2018 Sevens World Cup in San Francisco, didn’t have a conventional route into rugby as she only started playing at 21 while at the University of Western Cape, where she was studying Law.

She added: “I started with sevens, and from there on, everything just skyrocketed. I discovered the 15’s setup and got into that and got the chance to meet exceptional people and express myself there, which landed me in the Springbok women’s team back in 2017 for the very first time, and I have got to captain the side on a total of 13 occasions. I’m now here, enjoying rugby at the highest level and the best league in the world. I’m enjoying the wave of change rugby has brought into my life.”

Latsha grew up in a township in the Western Cape called Khayelitsha and despite her humble beginnings, she has become an inspirational figure for many South Africans back home living in poverty.

Passionate about inspiring the next generation of women’s rugby players, Latsha invests her time in community projects, coaching and mentoring.

She said: “It was quite tough growing up, having to navigate that situation. But I think the turning point was when I realised there was much more to my surroundings. I had a deep desire to want to be more. And so, rugby became that vehicle for me to navigate how I see things and how my development as a young woman of colour in South Africa would look like.”

Women’s rugby has progressed exponentially in South Africa in the past decade.

“With the expansion of the first contracted group in the 15’s set up, there has been a significant acceptance of the game in the country, targeting schools trying to get young girls into the game, and competitions such as WXV have catapulted the game into a bigger sphere,” said Lastsha.

She believes her time in the PWR will benefit her efforts for Harlequins and in the national squad.

“It’s an exciting place to be, both for women and for myself, and to have the opportunity to showcase your talent on great platforms in front of large crowds, which is something that I think is really cool,” said Latsha.

“The fact that some of our games are broadcasted is a big plus. From a purely rugby player perspective, it helps develop me in terms of skills and a better understanding of the game, allowing me to have a better impact on the Springbok women because now there’s a transfer of skills and knowledge.”

The 2021 league champions have had a tough start to the season with just three wins secured from their 11 games, but Latsha is optimistic.

She said: “I think there’s a shift in energy, mentality, and desire to want to do well. We all are on the same page in terms of what now needs to be done to keep the momentum going forward towards the end of the season.”

Written by William Gupwell

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