Asive Gaqa from Langa, a Grade 10 learner at Ned Doman High in Athlone, did not want to roam the streets in her community and decided to play rugby.
She currently plays as a flanker for the WP u-18 team. “At 15, I first joined the Mbombo Leopards and was the only girl who joined them. In the first week, it felt strange to be on the field with the boys, but in the second week they accepted my presence. My first match was against SACS and I was the first girl to play in a boys team as well. When the boys realised I was a girl they were tough and tackled me hard,” she says.
Then she joined Zimasa Jack, which is a girls team, after they asked her to join and from there she was selected for the WP u-16 team and played many games at City Park during the festivals.
“This year I did not play many matches because the WP trials for u-18’s were early. I managed to do well in the trials and those extra games helped me a lot. I was then selected for WP u-18 Girls Week, although I am only 16 years old.
“My hero is Sizophila Solontsi, who plays flank and number eight for the Springbok Women and is also from the Eastern Cape like Siya Kolisi. I like her attacking and defence structure and how she tackles her opponents,” she says. After school she hopes to go to the University of the Western Cape (UWC) because of their team’s success in the Varsity Cup.
“I would like to play professional rugby, preferably at the Blue Bulls, although the WP team did well in the league and only lost in the final against the Bulls. Many coaches play a role in my rugby career. I am very grateful to Mbombo Leopards for giving me the opportunity when there was no other girls in their team. Many coaches taught me little things, like how to tackle your opponents hard and to be prepared to get the same treatment.
“The coaches are organised and teach the girls to think like rugby players. At WP the coaches are professional and we train to play structured and strategy rugby. I was fortunate enough to be awarded in one match as the player of the match,” Gaqa says.
Her parents are her biggest supporters and her father teases her a lot about rugby.
“My aunt Cwenga Gaqa played for WP Senior Ladies and she gives me lots of advice. At school the teachers are always enquiring about my rugby progress and they watch my games on television,” she says.
