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To understand the singular brilliance of Babalwa Latsha is to recognise the chutzpah of a woman who managed to not only navigate a sport like rugby but then proceeded to master it before tossing away the game’s notorious barriers en route to the summit.
Latsha, the former Springbok Women’s captain, is forthright and calm, without her candour and affability coming across as simply an installation of efficient media training. No, the 30-year-old speaks like someone who, once she’d decided to be greater than her circumstances, had planned multiple routes into her future. So far, this has seen her become the first African woman to achieve the trifecta of having signed a professional rugby contract, getting a law degree, and establishing herself as a formidable ambassador for female health issues.
It did not start that way, though. She spent her formative years in Khayelitsha, Cape Town, without the kinds of opportunities that allowed her to visualise a world where a Black woman, even one born on the cusp of democracy, could pursue certain dreams.
“When I was younger, I had completely different ambitions. The turning point for me came in my early 20s, when I met my mentor. I realised that I wanted to pursue something bigger. I wanted to be more than just my circumstances. I wanted to be more than just a girl, a young woman growing up in Khayelitsha. I wanted to be more than my environment. I wanted to be more than just a statistic, and so, when rugby came into my life, I grabbed it with both hands and then squeezed out everything that came out of it,” says Latsha.
This meant that the prop sweated her way to securing a contract last year with Harlequins FC in Surrey, UK. Along the way, she made her mark at Spanish side SD Eibar Femenino in 2020 and scored an impressive 13 tries in just seven games. Not bad for a player who only turned her full attention to rugby at 21, after stints in athletics as a shot putter and discus thrower.
“To be at the forefront of the revolution in women’s rugby is a big honour, but also a responsibility that I’ve embraced because I’ve learned how to use my voice, I’ve learned how to use my platform — and what better way to use those things than to advance women’s rugby?
It’s an incredible vehicle to change the lives of young people, especially young women. And I’ve benefited first-hand from that, so I want the next person to realise the potential within women’s rugby and how the game can change their lives,” she says.
“Being the first woman to play professional rugby in the whole of Africa is an incredible achievement on my part and something that I hope will be part of my legacy. Beyond that, I hope it’s something that another young girl will see and realise that, in fact, she too can achieve her wildest dreams. Where you come from does not determine what your future can look like.”
She believes there is much that local rugby authorities can take away from their English counterparts in terms of what they have done to establish and support women in the sport.
“The English have figured out how best to present women’s rugby to the world. They celebrate the female rugby players more and are able to fill up stadiums, which is incredible. Comparatively, South Africa has only recently started the women’s rugby programme. We are still at the developmental stage. But that’s the great thing about South Africa — there is so much potential. We possess a unique identity as a rugby nation.
Just being South African in an English atmosphere sets me apart. There’s a special energy about South Africans, you know?” she says. “I have learned so much in terms of rugby; the standard of rugby is incredible. The people in the Harlequins organisation are good people and the environment is great, so I have enjoyed my stay in England. The weather, though, is very gloomy. Still, one finds home one way or another.”
Despite her enjoyment in turning up for the Quins, she singles out the try she scored at the 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Francisco as her most memorable. “I was making my debut in that game, believe it or not, and I scored at a World Cup. We had been training all week and it came together beautifully. I think that it has to be one of the best tries that I’ve ever scored,” she says.
Her humour shines through when asked what her one culture-shock experience has been.
“Well, I had a Sunday roast at some point, and was told about Yorkshire pudding. I thought Yorkshire pudding was dessert. It actually was not, it was not. So yeah, that was just weird for me. Why I call something a pudding if it’s not a dessert?” she laughs.
As easily as she can laugh, Latsha can become just as serious in an instant when she discusses the community-outreach projects in which she is involved, as MENstruation Foundation director and as an ambassador for Tendai Mtawarira’s The Beast Foundation and for Laureus Sport.
One travesty that compelled her to work with the MENstruation Foundation, Latsha says, is the knowledge that scores of girls on the continent miss school for days because they cannot afford sanitary products.
“Essentially, the MENstruation Foundation is tasked with eradicating period poverty — no girl child should be out of school, out of sport, because she lacks something as basic as a sanitary product,” she says.
The only drawback for Latsha in pursuing what she loves is the absence of those she loves. “What I cherish most is family. They are the reason I am who I am are and the most important thing to me. Belonging and feeling that you are part of something greater than you is important to me. In addition, I have friends who have become family, and I’ve been part of many families throughout my career, both professional and personal,” she says.
Latsha adds that she realised early on the impact prominent sport figures can have on one’s life through what she learned from US tennis ace Serena Williams, whose physique does not fit into the narrow, stereotypically “feminine” criteria imposed on women in her environment.
“The journey of true self-love is a lifelong one, in my opinion. I learn new things about myself every day, about my body, about how it moves, the shape that it is. I’ve learned to embrace my body because I put it through so much playing sport, and it has never disappointed me. So, I view it through the lens of abundance and realising what a blessing it is. The journey continues as my body changes, as I grow and age.”
She is not quite at that point yet but, when the time comes, as it does for every sportsperson, to call time on her illustrious career, Latsha would like to be remembered as a trailblazer who gave her heart to the game.
