Nothing can stand in her way of growing girls’ rugby
You just cannot knock Brenthurst resident and Laerskool Die Arend learner Crystal Mylie (13) down.
Whenever life tackles her to the ground, the young female rugby player gets right back on her feet and keeps pushing and moving forward.
Those qualities will stand her in good stead as a rugby player and as an aspirant, progressive woman.
The Herald first got to know Mylie last year when she started playing rugby for Brakpan Junior Rugby Club’s u-12 boys’ team as a flanker.
In March, the Herald reported on her exclusion from her school’s u-12 B side due to Ekurhuleni Valke Primary School Rugby Association constitutional regulations that girls may only play rugby in all-girl teams against other fully-fledged girl teams.
Now, due to an array of factors, the youngster will not be allowed to play u-14 rugby with the boys next season at club level.
Not disheartened by that fact, the youngster took it upon herself to find girls from within her school to try to establish a girls’ Sevens side at the club.
“I got the idea in my head to get a girls’ team together because I’m not allowed to play u-14s next year,” said the motivated Mylie.
“I gave out flyers at my school and some girls from showed up to the club for a meeting where I gave a speech about them playing rugby, which is also on YouTube.
“It took a week or so and we had 10 girls together.
“One of the girls left because she got hurt and she didn’t want to play anymore.
“We have been teaching the girls how to tackle and pass and have been playing our hearts out because we love this sport.
“We are trying to get enough girls together to play full-contact Sevens.”
Also read: Crystal proves girl power on the rugby field
On July 21 at Brakpan Junior Rugby Club’s Youth Rugby Day at Bosman Stadium, the girls filled in with the u-13 boys’ side in a match against Boksburg.
“I want more girls to play rugby and hopefully we can inspire other girls who might be too scared to play rugby to give it a chance,” added Mylie.
“We want to go bigger than what we are now.
“We don’t want to stay small.
“We want to go from playing seven-a-side to 15s.
“I believe this is going to work.
“We want to be Springboks and inspire other girls.
“If they don’t like playing some of the other sports then maybe rugby is their thing.”
She also wants to encourage younger girls to come and play rugby at the club and form a younger girls’ team.
“If they start young, they can grow and become a successful player,” said Mylie, who started playing rugby at home at the age of five.
Kiewiet Jansen van Nieuwenhuizen, Brakpan Junior Rugby Club chairman, said that having so many girls playing at the club is a first.
“We really want to make girls’ rugby bigger so that the other clubs on the East Rand can do it too,” he said.
“We mustn’t discriminate against anybody who wants to play rugby.
“It’s a challenge because other clubs don’t have teams for our girls to play against at the moment.
“Crystal has done great work here at the club.
“She’s an inspiration and got everything going here with the girls.
“She was so upset that she couldn’t play anymore with the boys, but that didn’t keep her down.
“We are very proud of her.”
Jacques Reynders, a coach at the club, who first gave Mylie a chance at playing rugby at the club, said:
“She can play, she will play and she has the heart.
“I gave her a chance last year at a training session.
“Everyone looked at her funny when I brought her that evening, but I’ll never forget after the practice, coaches came up to me and said thank you for bringing this girl who outplayed the boys. “Nothing scares her.
“She definitely has a future in the sport.
“I believe in her.”
If you are interested in getting involved with girls’ rugby, contact Surita on 061 152 8406.
Follow us:
