IT was an emotional and humbling experience for Zinhle Ndawonde who recently made her test debut for the Springboks women’s team against Wales in Cardiff. The 28-year-old, who is a firefighter stationed at King Shaka International Airport, was also named vice captain for the European Tour.

The tour saw the women’s team play four matches. The Springboks won their opening match against the UK Armed Forces 31-12 in Richmond, but suffered defeats in three test matches, going down 19-5 against Wales in Cardiff, 17-5 against Spain in Villajoyosa and 35-10 against Italy in Prato.

The tour marked the team’s first fully-fledged international tour since the 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup. For Ndawonde, getting her Springbok call up and being named vice captain were two incredible honours.

“For any athlete, representing your country is always a huge honour. Making my test debut was an emotional one, I remember tears rolling down my face because you realise you aren’t just playing for you or your family, but you are carrying the hopes of a nation on your shoulders. It was disappointing losing the game to Wales but I think we played really well considering this was our first test match since 2014,” she explained.

Sadly after the game, the former Parkhill Secondary School learner, fractured her finger in a backline training drill, resulting in her sitting out the rest of the tour.

“It was difficult not playing in the two other test matches but I was still proud to be part of the team and motivating them before the games and cheering them on when we played,” she said.

Her vice-captaincy appointment was the perfect reward for Ndawonde, who shoulders the responsibility of captaining the Sharks women’s team.

Ndawonde added working as a firefighter during the week helped her fitness.

“That’s one thing I love about being a firefighter and being a rugby player, my passion to help others is something that I really love. It’s also great for helping me with working out and working on my fitness,” she said.

Ndawonde, who was named KZN Sports Personality of the Year at last year’s KZN Sport Awards said she is also intent on inspiring young girls in Chesterville and around the province.

“I think being named sports personality of year brought home the message of taking the game to the underprivileged and giving back to the girls in my area. I’d love to grow the scope of the game in Chesterville and it’s great to see the youngsters be inspired by what I do and ask about joining a rugby team.

“I’ve also coached one of the girls teams for Salga (the South African Local Government Association) games which took place in December and to see the excitement the girls show towards the game is incredible. I want to be a part of that future contributing to growing the game among the youth,” she said.

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