Three rising stars from the Alexandra Wolves Rugby Club have announced themselves as genuine talents to watch in South African women’s rugby.

Kgopotso Ramogale, Patience Dikotla, and Ntokozo Kandiyado were selected for the Golden Lions U20 women’s squad that took on other provinces in a demanding series of matches. The trio emerged from a tough trial pool of 60 players to secure places in the 23-woman squad, with only three of the seven Alexandra hopefuls advancing.

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Coach Jack Moloi, the driving force behind the Wolves’ development programme, expressed quiet satisfaction at the breakthrough. “We had about seven players who went to the trials, but only three made it. Three of them made the cut,” Moloi said.

He said reaching this level carried weight that went far beyond the scoreboard. “Players from the township, when they turn 20 years of age, that is where we get excited because next year during the Lions’ first team season, they could be offered contracts,” he noted with hope.

Ramogale’s selection is one of the standout stories. Having taken up the sport seriously only later in 2023, she defied the odds with a fearless approach that caught the selectors’ eye.

“I realised that a lot of people were not doing things like tackling. I was the one doing it, and the coach had already mentioned that he wanted people who tackle.”

She said her debut in Lions colours was a mix of nerves and excitement. “It was my first, and I didn’t know any people. So, I felt like I was going to be an outsider. But it was a good experience,” she admitted.

The Lions U20 side played three matches in the provincial campaign in Johannesburg, securing two victories. The opening win against KZN set the tone. “Although our first game was against a tougher opponent, we won, and that’s when we realised that if we play as a team, we will win,” Ramogale said. That belief served them well until a narrow defeat in the second outing against Eastern Province.

Also read: Alexandra Wolves rise as underdogs in Johannesburg’s youth rugby scene

Kandiyado, on the other hand, brings a different narrative, that of the player who has stayed the course. She first pulled on boots for the Alexandra Wolves U11 side and has shown progress through the age grades, culminating in her recent U20 provincial appearances.

Moloi, who has watched her development closely, savoured the moment. “It is so nice to see a young player you coached playing consistently from a young age until they are older. It shows that the time you invested in them was not in vain.”

Dikotla completes a formidable Alexandra group, as a player who has earned calls to national development camps, she adds further depth and quality to a group that is beginning to put the Alex Wolves girls’ rugby club on the provincial rugby map.

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