Sevens star Buhlebethu Sonamzi wants more
One training session was all it took to get Eastern Province and Springbok sevens women’s rugby player Buhlebethu Sonamzi hooked on the sport.
The versatile 21-year-old, who can play at flank and hooker, was part of the national squad that recently participated in the Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament in San Francisco.
Now Sonamzi has set her sights in wearing a second green and gold blazer, but this time around for the 15-member national team.
“My biggest dream was to wear the green and gold of the Springboks and I have achieved that, now I have another dream.
“I am wearing a blazer that says Springbok Sevens. I would like have another blazer that says Springboks 15s,” she said.
The former Bontle Tigers player grew up in Rowland Park, where she was raised by her aunt, Nonthuthuzelo Nkunba.
“In 2013, while I was doing grade 10 at Khwezi Lomso High School, the owner of Tigers, Nomathemba Gum, introduced girls’ rugby at the school.
“At that stage I never paid much attention to it.
“A friend of mine invited me to rugby practice one day and that is how I started,” the Midlands College business management student said.
“I had no clue of how the sport was played at the time and it took me a year to learn the rules and regulations of the game.
“Gum had a schoolgirls’ rugby league of which Khwezi Lomso was part.
“We reached the final in our first year and then went to Bloemfontein to represent the school and Eastern Province at the Schools Rugby Championships.
“We didn’t do well in the tournament, but it was a great experience for us.”
While still at Khwezi Lomso in 2014, Sonamzi was selected for the EP sevens U18 team and a year later she was promoted to the senior team.
Last year, she received an invitation to the national women’s rugby camp to select the team that would tour abroad, but did not make the cut.
This year came another invite from the national team, but this time it was for the Sevens World Cup and she made the final squad.
“I was excited when I got the first invitation, because I never thought I would be invited to the SA camp.
“It was exciting and I had good hopes of making the team, but that did not happen.
“I continued working hard even though at first I felt like giving up because I thought not being selected meant I was not good enough.
“When the second invite came this year, I told myself I am just going to the camp to impress. To show the coach that there is a new me and I am better than what I was last year, not knowing that by having that mentality I would actually be selected to go to the World Cup.
“When I was told I was going to the World Cup, I burst into tears because it was always a dream of mine to wear those green and gold colours.”
Although the team did not do as well as they hoped they would, Sonamzi said she had brought back a lot of experience from the trip.
“The set-up of the national team was very different from what I am used to. I remember our first game against Russia. I had goose bumps.
“Looking at my performance in San Francisco, I was not too happy with my fitness level. I also need to improve on my passing.”
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