'If I lose my position, I lose my contract, my family won’t eat'

Sanelisiwe Charlie might be the most ironically named rugby player in the world. The Springboks prop’s first name means ‘we are satisfied’ in isiXhosa.

Usually reserved for a child born after multiple siblings – she is the fifth of five girls – this name denotes contentment.

Charlie feels the opposite. Which explains why, since making her senior debut in 2020, she’s not once had a scrum penalty blown against her.

“It’s true,” she insists. “I take scrums very seriously. It’s something I’m very proud of. Milking penalties, making those hits, pushing as hard as I can. I love it.”

South Africans have always shown love for the big units in the front row, but these past eight years have seen this relationship blossom. Players like Tendai ‘Beast’ Mtawarira, Frans Malherbe, Steven Kitshoff, Vincent ‘Mr Incredible’ Koch, and Ox Nche – who thrust the phrase ‘salads don’t win scrums’ into popular discourse – have reshaped the image of this largely misunderstood position.

Charlie is determined to add her name to the list. “I want to be that person in the women's game,” says the 24-year-old with 21 caps for her country.

“It’s not easy. I have a lot of work to do. We’re developing as a team. I know I’m not there yet. I know we’re not there yet as a team. But I want to be. I dream of winning a penalty for my team and helping them win a game. That’s all I want.”

What distinguished Charlie from her male counterparts – indeed, what distinguishes many female Springboks from their male counterparts – is that she did not grow up with a passion for the game.

“Rugby was sort of forced on me,” she explains. “Living in the Eastern Cape I obviously knew about rugby, but it’s not like I was interested in playing.

"But because of my body shape, people kept saying, ‘you need to play, you need to play’. I was 18. I just thought, ‘why not’. So I tried. And the rest is history.”

Charlie is unafraid to venture into the sensitive subject of body image and how women can feel pressure to look a certain way. Of course men experience this as well, but society at large is often more forgiving of a man with a paunch.

“If I had a six pack there is no way I could scrum as well as I do,” Charlie says with a laugh. “No prop in the world has a six pack and that’s OK. I’m not saying I don’t have work to do. I want to get fitter and I know that I need to get fitter.

"But I want to tell girls that it’s OK to look how you look. I am grateful for my strength. I use my strength to push for my country. Why would I not be proud of that?”

That’s not the only reason why she packs down in the scrum. She is the sole bread-winner in her family and provides for her mother and four sisters.

“I think of them whenever I crouch down to scrum,” she says. “Maybe that’s why I’ve never lost a scrum. How could I lose a scrum or give away a penalty when I’m pushing for my family to eat?

"If I don’t keep winning penalties then someone else will come and take my position. And if I lose my position, if I lose my contract, then my family won’t eat. I can’t let that happen.”

As one 11 Bulls Daisies players named in the matchday 23 for the Springbok Women's final WXV 2 game against Italy on Saturday, Charlie is a full-time professional.

Her conditioning is closely monitored. Her nutritional needs are calculated to the calorie. When she’s not training she is resting and recovering. It is no wonder that the Bulls have swept to consecutive Women’s Premier Division titles with a formidable pack driving the team to glory.

That physicality has since been transferred to the Boks where a front-foot game-plan has been implemented and a homage to the men’s so-called Bomb Squad is now a staple of the group.

“I take responsibility for that physicality,” Charlie adds. “We’re out there to cause trouble. We want to land big hits. We want to knock the other team backwards and let them know that we’re South African. That we take this seriously. That playing against us is serious.

“We have a lot of work to do. Our defence [against Australia in a 33-26 defeat in Cape Town] was not great, but we know where we have to improve. But we were happy with how we took on the challenge.

"I’d never played Australia before and they were so fast. It showed me I need to work on my feet and speed and other stuff but I know I didn’t go backwards in the scrum. That will never happen.”

Charlie will start on the bench this weekend and says she is “determined” to see out a win, but, like most voices from the camp, she downplays the importance of this solitary result.

“We’re all about the World Cup [next year in England],” she says. “That’s what we’re all talking about. We’re not afraid to say it. We’ve now started winning and we like the feeling. We want it more. But we also know that we’re building towards something big next year. If we can keep going we’ll do well.

“I’ll keep pushing hard. For my family and for South Africa. For all young girls who want to play rugby. Ya, I can say that I’ll always keep pushing.”