Hlabangane can’t wait to play for the Boks at the Cape Town World Sevens

It is funny how perceptions about sports can change. A few years back, Nolwazi Hlabangane thought rugby was a sport where the only goal was to kill your opponent to be in control of the ball.

As said, that was a few years back. Nowadays, Hlabangane is the one "doing the killing". She is seemingly quite good at it. The Delta Drone Tuks player represented the Springboks during the recent World Rugby Challenger Tournament in Chili. From tomorrow, she will again don the "Green and Gold" to play for the Boks during the Sevens World Cup Tournament in Cape Town.

Hlabangane laughs when she thinks back to what she felt when she first saw rugby being played.

"I was in a girl school, so I knew nothing about rugby. What happened on the rugby field seemed chaotic to me. I got the idea that any time any player is 'out to kill' someone from the opposition to get the ball."

At the time, Hlabangane was an avid basketball player. When she enrolled at Tuks to study sports science, she dreamed of making it big in basketball. She played provincially. There was even a stint in which she played professionally.

But everything changed when she saw a poster at the Tuks campus encouraging women to play sevens rugby.

"The basketball season had ended, and as it was important to me to retain my fitness, I was keen on trying something new. I did some research on the internet to get a better understanding of what rugby is about.

"The videos I watched gave me a false sense of confidence. It seemed to me the only thing that mattered was when you get the ball, you run as fast as you can to score a try.

"Needless to say, rugby is not such a simple game. I made a big boo-boo in my first game. I got the ball, ran and dived over, thinking I had scored. I was told I had dotted down the ball on the five-metre line.

"The more I played, the more I realised there are definite rules in rugby and technicalities, and if you err, you get penalised."

Tackling or getting tackled is no issue to her.

"During the first tournament, I played for Delta Drone Tuks in France; this one player took me down hard. It was a good tackle. Afterwards, I went to congratulate her. Shaking her hand. I needed to do so as I wanted to let her know that I was not intimidated.

"The most important thing I learned playing for the Boks in Chili was to only focus on the controllable. It does not matter if your opponent is bigger than you; you got still to back yourself in any situation."

Hlabangane is absolutely committed to rugby. When her playing career ends, she plans to work as a strength and conditioning coach in women's rugby.

"I want more women to play rugby, so I will also be active in rugby development."

Nadine Roos and Marlize de Bruin are the other two Tuks players in the Bok team.