South African speedster Anele Mgwazela “loves, breathes and eats rugby”

The enthusiastic education student and rugby sevens athlete looks back on her promising career so far.

You may have caught a glimpse of rising South African Rugby Sevens star Anele Mgwazela at the at the beginning of the summer? Find out more about this talented speedster, who blitzed across the fields in southern France.

Anele was a sports fanatic from a young age, excelling at school level in netball, hockey, football, swimming, athletics and touch rugby. Her local newspaper wrote an article featuring a 13-year-old Anele, describing her as an “enthusiastic and level-headed pupil with joyful enthusiasm regarding all aspects of her school life, enjoying and embracing the challenges in the classroom and on the sports field”.

And it seems not much has changed. The committed student-athlete is in her second year studying Education at the University of Pretoria, all the while showing outstanding talent on the rugby field.

Yet from her bouquet of sporting talents as a youngster, how did she end up choosing the oval-ball game?  “I was a very sporty person growing up. In high school I played netball and a bit of touch rugby at club level, as my school didn’t have a touch rugby team. When I enrolled into university, I saw a group of people playing touch rugby, so I decided to join. My plan was to try out rugby for a week and if it didn’t work for me, I’d stop and go back to netball. But I really enjoyed it and here I am today!”

Her natural talent shone through, starring for her university before earning a call-up to the South African side to do battle at the FISU Rugby Sevens Championships in France last June. 

A tough set of fixtures meant the South African women finished third in their group, eventually taking sixth place overall, yet, looking back, Anele remains proud, both of her individual and team’s performance.

“I had made a promise to myself that I wanted to play like I’ve never played before and leave that field after every game with no regrets, which I did,” she says. “Speaking on behalf of my teammates, although we didn’t get the results we wanted, we pushed until the very last minute of every match. Looking back, we are very proud of ourselves, as for the most part, this was our very first time ever playing with each other.”

Away from pitch, Anele cited the venue, facilities and friendly nature among the teams as some of her highlights.

“The tournament was out of this world!” she exclaims. “Everything was perfect, the facility was amazing, and the pitch was just ‘wow’! We shared a hotel with Singapore and Canada, and they were all very kind and friendly, and our conversations just flowed! It was such a great experience.”

Making it extra special for the South African team at this year’s FISU Sevens tournament was the fact that just months earlier, the national men’s team – the Springboks – had earned a record fourth Rugby World Cup title in France. “It was so special! I remember being in the changing room when our coach told us about how the Springboks won here in France. In that moment, something clicked in me and I thought, “Anele, you really doing this! You’re not only doing it for yourself, but for South Africa.”

A sports-crazy family

Sport definitely runs in the Mgwazela blood, with Anele’s brother Samkelo a professional footballer in South Africa, having tried to convince his sister to follow suit. “It’s funny because my brother wanted me to play soccer and follow in his footsteps – I remember how he would fetch me after school and take me to soccer training by force! I knew that it wouldn’t work out, but I carried on playing soccer until my teenage years, eventually stopping as I really didn’t enjoy it. But he’s a very supportive brother – we always back each other, motivate each other and are always there for each other.”

And it’s from brother Samkelo where Anele draws her inspiration. “Seeing my brother waking up every day, chasing his dreams, makes me push even more and believe that I can also make a living out of rugby, since he’s done it as a professional soccer player. It’s my dream to play for the Springboks one day.”

Written by Fabio de Dominicis, pictures courtesy of Anele Mgwazela