#TuksRugby: Delta Drone Tuks7’s women wants to remain unbeaten in local tournaments

Posted on April 20, 2018

It has been three years since the Delta Drone TuksRugby7's women lost a local game and if the players had their way they will remain unbeaten for the foreseeable future.

Tomorrow the team will be contesting the USSA Tournament played at Wits. The Delta Drone Tuks-team is not the defending champions, but that is because they did not compete last year due to international playing commitments. In 2015 and 2016 they won the tournament.

Riaan van der Merwe (head coach) is confident that his team will regain the USSA title.

“We are currently in a rebuilding phase with a lot of new players. That does not change anything. When the team takes to the field, there is only one goal, and that is to win.”

Nolwazi Hlabangane who is one of the team stalwarts knows how it feels to lose at the USSA Tournament. It was in 2014. The excuse could be used that the team was severely hampered by injuries. Still losing the final is not a memory she cherishes. 

She sees herself as a late convert to sevens rugby. The deciding moment in her sports career came about when she saw a poster encouraging women to take up the sport. 

“It was the end of the basketball season, and I was looking for a way to stay fit. I never realised that women could play rugby. That evening I watched a few YouTube videos. Playing rugby looked easy. It seemed you just needed to be able to catch the ball and run as fast as you can,” said Hlabangane.

“Mastering the art of playing sevens turned out to be slightly more difficult. Firstly I had to make a mindset change to be somewhat more aggressive when I took to the field. It also took some time to get used to the idea of getting tackled and going into a tackle.

“Playing sevens has changed my life. Through it, I have learned lessons that have stood me in good stead in all aspects of life. The most important being is never to give up. A lot can happen during ten seconds of a game. One vital tackle or a ball stolen quickly can change the outcome of the game. The same goes for everyday life. It takes just one vital decision or personal action.”

Hlabangane sees her decision to play sevens as one of the best she made. Not only because of the adrenaline rush she gets from playing. On her Twitter profile, she describes herself as a world traveller through sport. It is no exaggeration. Last year the Delta Drone Tuks-team competed in five international tournaments winning two and losing in a final. 

“Rugby has changed my life. I got to see and experience some amazing things around the world and made many interesting friends,” said Hlabangane who when not playing works for the Premier Soccer League as a games analyst.

She admits that her job helps her to play better rugby as she tends to think before she does on the field.

- Author Wilhelm de Swardt

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