Rights Mkhari wants to honour her country wearing green and gold

LIMPOPO – Springbok Sevens rugby player, Rights Mkhari of Bungeni has come a long way to fulfil her dream. Growing up poor, Mkhari told CV she first started playing rugby at Russel Bungeni High School near Louis Trichardt in 2009, as a full-back.

In 2013, she played for the South Africa u/20 women’s team, later being scouted for the sevens squad. Her mother was her biggest inspiration, and supported her throughout, she said.”My mother always says nothing good in life comes easy, you have to work for it.”

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Her grandmother, she says, use to watch a lot of boxing and athletics, and this made her believe that one day she could also wear the colours of the South African flag. “Whatever, the sport is, I wanted to honour my country one day,” she told CV. “I played in Vancouver in 2017 and toured with the Springbok 15s to the UK in the same year, and won the Olympic qualifier in 2019 in Tunisia, where I scored the three winning tries for the Springbok women’s team.”

Returning and playing the Africa qualifier for the World Cup in New Zealand in 2021, she was also named the top try scorer. Mkhari is currently a final-year student at the University of Venda in B.Sc. She believes education is key in furthering one’s career and that this is what opened the doors for her to go to university. She advised young people who want to pursue sport to keep their focus in order to reach their goals.

“Even if your talent is not in sport, engaging in sport and travelling will develop your talent and put you on a path for your future. Sport taught me to study hard, work hard and achieve my dreams.” She is of the view that sport during the lockdown would expose athletes unnecessarily, and that, even though the current situation is tough, things will look better again in future.

capvoice@nmgroup.co.za