Rugby runs through veins of Durban Academy girls

THE future looks bright for three rugby girls from Durban Academy High who recently made the KZN Sharks high schools and KZN Youth Training Centre (YTC) U16 and U18 teams.
Rugby might be a rough and tough sport but for hooker, Lindelwa Khomo and right wings, Gugu Dlomo and Yolanda Nophakela, rugby is the air they breathe.
“This sport has given me the freedom to be who I need to be. I started rugby to prove to people I’m not just a pretty face, that I can be tough and force to be reckoned with,” said Yolanda.
Gugu used to be a netball star before moving to rugby.

READ: Girls’ rugby at Durban Academy
“I was advised rugby would be a better sport to release my anger. I used to be quite violent on the netball field but rugby has changed me. It taught me to channel my energy,” she said. Lindelwa feels rugby was meant for her and the spark was ignited within her when she was approached by the school’s best player, who recognised her potential.

“Rugby is life – I don’t think you will catch me doing anything else,” she smiled.

The three girls who play for the U16 and U18 teams believe they are breaking the stereotype moulds in the sport.
“Rugby is not just for boys and people need to stop telling girls they can’t do something because ‘it’s not for girls’. It should not even be considered as a sentence. You can do anything and achieve anything if you just commit to it. A dream is not gender-based, a dream is something you follow and work on every day to turn it into reality. I want more girls to play rugby, it is such a good sport. It teaches you confidence, respect and especially how to care for each other on the field,” said Yolanda.
“It’s about decisions and consequences – the two most important skills you need to learn to survive in this world. Rugby really does teach us more than just knocking our opponents down,” chuckled Gugu.