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'We belong on the global stage': Babalwa Latsha ahead of WXV and RWC 2025
Springbok Women prop Babalwa Latsha became the first African woman to sign a professional rugby contract when she joined Spanish side SD Eibar Femenino in 2020.
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Four years later, now playing her club rugby for Harlequins, Latsha has her sights set on playing for South Africa at the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup.
Latsha, who was born in the township of Khayelitsha in Cape Town, spoke to RugbyPass one year out from RWC 2025 as South Africa prepare for the second edition of WXV 2 which kicks off on 27 September.
They hosted the inaugural WXV 2 competition in 2023 and will do the same this year, qualifying for both the second level of WXV for consecutive years and the 2025 World Cup as a result of their back-to-back Rugby Africa Women’s Cup victories.
“It’s incredible to welcome the world to our shores,” she said, looking ahead to the competition which starts this Friday.
“We are hosting it for the second year running and it’s a brilliant opportunity for South African women’s rugby to grow, to bring women’s rugby to communities.
“We’re playing at the DHL Stadium and Athlone Stadium and so we look forward to seeing to seeing the crowds and singing our national anthem in unison with everyone in the crowd as well.
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“For us, representation is really important. I believe that you can’t be what you can’t see. It’s a great platform to see us and to see themselves in us.
“To see us represent them, and hopefully, they will or can aspire to do the same and even better. For us, it’s a massive privilege to have that much of an influence and to be able to do what we love in our home country. Hopefully, it will help inspire a brand new generation of young women.”
Latsha is one of four Springbok Women in the WXV 2 squad who play for Premiership Women’s Rugby clubs with fellow Harlequin Danelle Lochner, Lindelwa Gwala (Trailfinders), and Catha Jacobs (Leicester Tigers) also representing South Africa in the English league.
Throughout her time at Harlequins, the South African forward has experienced moments of joy at seeing herself represented on posters at the club which has contributed to her sense of belonging.
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“In my opinion, the PWR is one of the best leagues in the world,” she said with pride. “To have access to it, to play in it, it of course helps me to develop my skills to become a better rugby player.
“More than just to say that we belong there. I belong there, we belong on the global stage, South African players belong there. I hope that in the near future, we can see an increased number of South African players plying their trade in the PWR.
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“For one, it was the validation of dreams coming true, but secondly a continued defiance on my part to say that you can come from absolutely nothing, like I do, or did, but that doesn’t mean you are nothing. It’s still a very fond memory, or moment, for me.
“Beyond that, it was another validation that South African rugby players are extremely talented. They’re not short of anything. We belong on the global stage. Harlequins have given me an opportunity to display all of that.”
The sense of belonging is something which drew Latsha to rugby in the first place and has kept her in the sport despite being a talented athlete in other disciplines such as football and athletics.
“What stuck out for me in rugby, what kept me in rugby, was I found a home. I found a great sense of freedom, and acceptance by my peers, and by myself more importantly.”
She continued: “I learned to embrace my body and what it can do, and to love myself a little bit more, and to accept myself as well. I also realised that it gave me and incredible platform to one, be myself, but also to be able to influence others positively. It changed my life. That was the reason why I stayed in rugby and enjoyed it.”
Next year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup will be the biggest yet, expanded to 16 teams who will play across eight venues in England.
Springbok Women are one of the ten teams that have already qualified, with the final six to be confirmed at the completion of WXV.
Latsha particularly looks forward to playing in the competition, which is taking place in the country that she spends the club season in.
“It’s so exciting, I look forward to it so much. I think a World Cup is such a special occasion and to have it where I usually ply my trade is even more special.
“I think everything has sort of fallen into place, maybe the universe is trying to tell me something, I don’t know, but it’s a massive occasion. I’m exceptionally excited about it and I can’t wait for it to begin really,” she said with a beaming smile, speaking to RugbyPass amid filming for the RWC 2025 video campaign.
She added: “Our aim is to inspire a brand new generation of young women who are fearless, who are courageous, who aren’t to be themselves. I think that rugby offers us that opportunity, so hopefully, it’ll show in the way that we play on the grandest stages of all.”
A key figure in the new generation of women that she is hoping to inspire is her 18-year-old sister Litha.
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Latsha, who has played for her country 30 times, spoke ardently about what being a role model means to her and how her younger sister has influenced her status as an inspirational figure.
“Being a role model, for me, is a great privilege. Not many people can call themselves that or find themselves in that position. I hold it really dear to my heart because my sister looks up to me, therefore inevitably other young women look up to us as well.
“We embrace that. For me being a role model isn’t just the things you do on the pitch. It’s not just your athletic prowess, it’s in the way you conduct yourself and the way that you represent others.
“I also think that it’s in what you stand for, and it’s in what you do when no one is looking. It’s how you’re able to be a positive point of reference and to be of good contribution to society in my opinion.”
Recent years have seen support for the women’s team grow within South Africa, not least from their male Springbok counterparts, whose voices carry undeniable weight, particularly as back-to-back Men’s Rugby World Cup champions.
Men’s captain Siya Kolisi, who is also the second most-followed rugby player on Instagram behind Ilona Maher with 1.3 million followers, often voices his support for the women’s team.
“The biggest thing for us by having male allies is they’re able to add their voices to our cause, but also to affect tangible changes,” Latsha stated.
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“Not just to say they support women’s sport, but actually actively put things into place, use their resources, use the things that they have access to advance the game or to advance women’s sport.
“It’s great that they [the likes of Siya Kolisi] are supporting us, and I’d like to implore more male athletes and rugby players to support women’s rugby.
“It’s such a phenomenal force, and it can only get bigger and better. After all, we are all stronger together. I think we can grow together, we can support each other and just be of positive impact.”
Latsha uses her own platform as a prominent figure in South African rugby to draw attention to causes that she is passionate about, one of which is The Menstruation Foundation, which she is director of.
“The Menstruation Foundation is one that is really close to my heart. I am involved in others, I’m a Laureus ambassador, The Beast Foundation ambassador and so forth, but the Menstruation Foundation speaks to my heart,” she explained.
“It never made sense to me why a natural occurrence in a woman’s body should put you on the back foot. We want to ensure that every young girl stays in school, and that she doesn’t miss a day of school or sport because she’s on her period, which is a natural occurrence.
“Essentially, we want to put an end to period poverty. Siv Ngesi and Marius Basson who are our founders have done phenomenal work in that regard and there is so much more coming up.”
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Period poverty is a pertinent issue in South Africa, and The Menstruation Foundation’s website states that 35% of 22 million South African women have to choose between buying a loaf of bread or a sanitary product.
Additionally, they state that more than four million women in schools, varsities and sport clinics in South Africa miss an average of five days a month of education and training due to a lack of access to sanitary products.
Sport can be a key platform to open up discussions surrounding wider issues such as period poverty, and Latsha believes that harnessing the impact that sport can have can be life-changing.
She said: “Sport is such an important tool to foster, or even to begin such conversations. It’s a groundbreaker. You’re able to defy stereotypes through sport, it’s such an incredible tool.
“By having those conversations we are then empowering minds, we are changing lives. If you think about it, sport speaks to young people in a very unique way. If you are able to align things and tap into that there are so many more positive changes that can be made.”
Good luck to her and SA. I can see them becoming competitive with the top teams in the next 10 to 15 years.