Two Curro Delft learners have made history after being selected for South Africa’s first-ever SA Schools Under-18 Girls rugby team. Inga Jim and Lethokuhle Madwayi were named in the squads announced at the end of FNB U18 Girls Week in Gqeberha, with Inga also handed the captaincy of the inaugural side.
Inga will play as a loose/utility forward, while Lethokuhle has been selected at prop.
The two 26-player squads will face each other at Grey High School, marking another milestone for the inaugural SA Schools Girls programme. Western Province has the largest contingent across both squads, with 15 players, including Inga and Lethokuhle. SA Rugby described the announcement as a defining moment for the game. While the SA Schools boys’ teams have been selected for decades, the introduction of two girls’ teams marks a significant milestone in the history of South African rugby.
A moment years in the making
For Inga, the news came moments after her team’s final pool game against Eastern Province, while the celebrations were still in full swing. As names were read out, she found herself silently repeating two words – “please, Lord” – until she heard her own. ‘A wave of emotion hit me instantly,’ she recalls. ‘I was overwhelmed by happiness and relief.’
Her journey began at 13, when Curro Delft introduced a girls’ rugby team, and she jumped at the chance to follow in her older brother’s footsteps. Since then, she has represented Western Province for three consecutive years and turned out for the Western Cape’s U15 sevens and fifteens sides in 2023. Along the way, she has learned that progress is not always linear, and credits her family and coaches for encouraging her, building her confidence and continuing to believe in her potential.
Now captain of a team that is writing history, Inga says the honour is deeply personal. ‘To this day, I still can’t wrap my head around the fact that I got the opportunity to make history in women’s rugby,’ she says. Her advice to the next generation of female athletes is rooted in one belief: success takes discipline, not just motivation, and setbacks are part of the journey, not a measure of what you can achieve. ‘Don’t let anything stop you,’ she says, ‘because if not you, then who?’
For Lethokuhle, the moment unfolded much the same way-celebrating a win over Eastern Province when her teammates began pushing her forward, insisting she had made the cut. It took hearing her name called three times before it sank in. ‘The first thing I did was cry,’ she admits, ‘I did not expect to make it at all.’
Her path to rugby started almost by accident. After switching from hockey and tennis when she joined Curro Delft, she joined the girls’ rugby team on a whim one afternoon and quickly discovered a sport in which she felt at home. The experience also helped her grow in confidence and become more comfortable in herself. Her parents kept her grounded, balancing academics and sport, while her coaches, she says, recognised potential in her that she was still learning to see in herself.
Selection for the historic SA Schools Girls team means the world to her. ‘It’s a dream I’m very honoured to live; I know this is only the beginning,’ she says. Her advice to aspiring young athletes echoes a line from her principal: ‘If you believe it, you can achieve it.’ But she is quick to add, belief needs to be matched by a willingness to learn, work hard and make mistakes along the way.
Both girls head into the squad with the same goal in mind: to learn as much as they can, embrace every opportunity and absorb the experience as they take their first steps towards what it truly means to wear the Springbok blazer.
Ruan Beukes, Executive Head of Curro Delft, says Inga and Lethokuhle’s achievement reflects the confidence, discipline and determination they have shown throughout their rugby journey.
‘Having Inga and Lethokuhle selected for the first-ever SA Schools Girls team is an incredibly proud moment for our school and for everyone who has supported them along the way. They have put in the work, stayed committed and continued to grow as players, so to see them rewarded with this opportunity is special.’
‘What makes this even more meaningful is that they are now part of something that has never been done before in South African school’s rugby. They have worked hard for this, and we are incredibly proud to see them represent Curro Delft at this level. I hope other young girls at the school see what Inga and Lethokuhle have achieved and realise what is possible for them too,’ he concludes.
