Babalwa Latsha made history when she became the first African player to go professional after signing a contract with English club Saracens in 2019.
And although her stay at the club was short-lived due to the untimely COVID-19 outbreak, her rise to the top is a journey that started on the streets of one of the most notorious townships in South Africa; one filled with criticism, prejudice and stereotypes.
From Khayelitsha, Latsha endured many hardships and challenges on her way to the top of her trade. She had to negate and survive the streets without getting caught up in the social trends – or traps, depending on which way you look at it – that are often seen as standard procedure in the townships.
Perhaps even more frightening was her daily fight to survive with her life intact.
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“I could’ve gotten involved in anything, because in Khayelitsha anything goes. I could have used drugs or fallen pregnant, for example, or even worse I could have wound up dead, killed on the street simply because that’s the trend where I’m from. The life expectancy of a black girl child in Khayelitsha is relatively low. Basically, it’s fighting an internal battle with not wanting to accept your circumstances, not wanting to become another statistic. Sometimes I wonder if anyone from the outside world understands that,” Latsha told Cape {town} Etc.
Her escape from her impoverished upbringing came when she involuntarily stumbled across the SA Rugby Legends’ Vuka Programme during one of their coaching clinics in Khayelitsha.
Fast forward a year and Latsha had gained admission to study towards an LLB degree at the University of the Western Cape. Not intimidated by the tough academic syllabus, she immediately joined UWC’s rugby ranks when she found out the institution had a women’s team. Her development skyrocketed in record timing, and word quickly spread of the firecracker prop.
Soon, Latsha played at club level for UWC and for Western Province at the provincial level. Thanks to her fierce dedication, she successfully managed to balance her congested schedule.
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“It was crazy. I had to rush from class to training on most days. Then when I’d return home at night it was quite late and I had to manoeuvre my way around hotspots so I could get home safely and in one piece before burning the midnight oil studying so I could get through the exams. I used whatever spare time I had to study, like when waiting for a train, I’d pull out a textbook and try to get as much in my head as possible,” she says.
But forging her own path in a male-dominated sport was frowned upon by those closer to home.
“It’s tough for someone from that area to be able to build yourself up as a brand and specifically a sportswoman. Before, I was ridiculed for what they perceived as being too muscular. Later they mocked me, asking why I played rugby and not football which was apparently better suited for someone like me. I just couldn’t win and that was even more reason to carry on in this sport and make a success of it.”
By way of defusing the critics’ misinterpretation of her work, Latsha won national colours in sevens and fifteens and graduated with an LLB degree all within five years since she first picked up a rugby ball. She played at the Women’s Sevens World Cup in San Francisco in July 2018 and was fully capped when she turned out for the Springbok Women in a three-Test tour of Europe after the team’s four-year hiatus from the international arena.
But that’s just part of her success story. She made such an impression on that tour that the English champions, Saracens, came circling in Cape waters to invite Latsha abroad. After the formalities were completed, her move to ‘Sarries’ made her the first woman from the far reaches of Africa to play in Europe as a full-time professional.
These days, Latsha runs several coaching clinics and mentorship programmes in her old area and works as a gym instructor and part-time sports show host at a community radio based in Khayelitsha.
Following her return to South Africa after the COVID-19 pandemic cut short her European adventure, Saracens’ loss became Western Province’s gain as the 27-year-old rejoined her former provincial team, where she will stay for the foreseeable future.
Her on-field performance and her charity work in the community of Khayelitsha has earned Latsha place on the list of one of the top 12th most influential women in rugby on the continent. And still, she hopes to achieve more and do more to enhance the profile of the women’s game in South Africa.
Having just earned her 10th Test cap against France in Vannes – a game lost even though the prop performed admirably – Latsha looks set to extend that tally in the remaining games of the Bok women’s end-of-year tour of Europe and will be one of the key squad members during the team’s World Cup campaign scheduled to take place next year.
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Thanks to Air France and Explore France, another Mother City woman in sport was able to reach new heights. Known as SA Rugby‘s “unicorn”, Mariette Adams is a powerhouse making waves in the world of all things sports in South Africa — and now France, too! Adams was the eyes and ears for local rugby supporters as she documented the Springbok Women’s team all the way from the City of Love.
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There’s no denying the fairytale aspect of Latsha’s story. But contrary to popular belief, fairytales involve hard work and dedication, too. Latsha has embraced the harsh realities of her upbringing, rather than looking to escape them, and that makes her all the more relatable and inspirational as an athlete.
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Words: Mariette Adams
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Picture: Instagram