Rugby player Precious Edwards(19) tackling to become a professional rugby coach in future
Rugby being perfected by ladies.
“I’ve noticed that there aren’t many females who are playing rugby, so I joined. Rugby is a nice sport, it is not as rough as people think it is, it’s about respect, integrity, it’s not only about strength, it is how you reveal yourself to people,” said Precious Edwards from Eldoronians Rugby Club.
The nineteen-year-old player shared that her very first rugby match was with Soweto Eagles because Eldorado Park didn’t have many players so she helped fill another team in order to get the experience.
“This was June 16, 2017. I did my first tackle; it was weird but nice. I went for the biggest built player and tackled her. Everyone was screaming my name; I was nervous and wasn’t so sure what to do.
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“The player fell to the ground and people were cheering all the way,” said Edwards.
She also started playing rugby at Eldomaine Secondary School where she went to school, due to the lack of interest from the girl’s side, Edwards joined the boys’ team and even captained the team for 2018 and 2019.
“When I started off with the boys, it was a bit scary but then I was already gyming with the guys from Eldoronians, that prepared me, so when it came to playing with the high school guys, I felt like I was in control.
“There was a lot of people who discriminated against me because they believed that girls should not be playing rugby, it is only for boys. If I made a mistake on the field, those same people would say it is because I am a female but I have this quote in my head; ‘it’s made by men but it’s perfected by ladies’. At first, the boys were very careful when they played with me but then they saw that I play like them so now they play as though I am a boy. I play scrum-half number 9 and number 11 but I can play all the positions. Playing in the boy’s team definitely gave me an advantage over other girls my age,” added Edwards.
According to Edwards, one of the biggest things that she was part of so far was the relaunch of the tri-sports campaign with ‘My Eldos’ which took place last year. Edwards was the sports master for her school at the relaunch. Last year June, she was also part of a month-long internship at Ellis Park for the Gauteng Development Coaches programme.
The teen mentioned that she would like to become a professional rugby coach. “I would like for more females to enter the sport, some do want to play but they are scared of getting hurt,” concluded Edwards.
Although twisting her ankle, injuring her knee, and dislocating her wrist in the sport, Edwards is happy to say that she has fully recovered and can still perform to the best of her ability.
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