Hard work is paying off
School starts in February and she is excited as some of Springboks will be staying in the hostel with her.
Hard work and dedication seem to be paying off for Brakpan’s Kaylee van Staden.
The 19-year-old has just been rewarded with a scholarship from the Gauteng Women’s Rugby Institute (GWRI).
This is after she impressed in recent years when playing for Brakpan Rugby Club, Valke and even helped to coach at her school, Hoërskool Dr EG Jansen.
Van Staden only started playing rugby in 2019 as a way to help recover from depression.
“I was always around my cousins who are boys and they liked playing rugby. I was a hockey player before, but rugby made sense to me,” she said.
“That’s when I started looking for a girls’ rugby team and I found Brakpan.”
Joline, her mother said: “She had it rough growing up as I’m a single mother with four children.”
She joined Brakpan, and women’s coach Bennie Kruger saw potential in her.
“Coach Bennie helped me with extra hours of training, with club chairperson Harry Nieuwenhuis’ approval,” said van Staden.
Read: Latsha named among 12 leading women in African rugby
Her mother describes the local rugby club as “family” as she feels they helped look after her daughter and the family during the hardest times.
Van Staden, on the other hand, looks forward to starting school with the GWRI programme in Pretoria, where she wants to obtain a degree in sports physiotherapy.
This is after she spent large parts of lockdown working on her fitness.
Despite having worked so hard, she admitted she is surprised to see the fruits of her labour so soon, after having played the sport for just two years.
“When I was picked for the GWRI programme I was amazed because I didn’t think it would happen so quickly,” she said.
She’s also excited that the main ambassador for the programme is her favourite player, Springbok captain Babalwa Latsha.
“I would like to play for the Springboks one day and she is my hero. I met her when the Springboks played in Brakpan (World Cup qualifiers),” said the young van Staden.
“At the time we both played tighthead prop, I’ve since moved to hooker.”
School starts in February and she is excited as some of Springboks will be staying in the hostel with her.
“I can’t wait to ask them what it’s like playing for South Africa. I will learn a lot from them,” she said.
So what advice does she have for young girls who aspire to play rugby at a high level?
“I want to tell them to follow their dreams. Don’t listen to what people say. People like to judge and say rugby is not for girls, but I say the girls must follow their dreams,” she said.
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