Springbok Women utility forward Sinzaso Mcatshulwa is looking forward to her stint at French club Lille Métropole RC Villeneuvois and departed South Africa with a clear objective – to improve as a player and grow as a person.
Mcatshulwa, who played 32 Tests at flanker and three at lock (scoring 10 tries in the process) left Cape Town for Lille on Tuesday night determined to make most of the opportunity that was presented a couple of months ago.
“The club contacted me on Instagram around May and started enquiring about my plans for the future,” said Mcatshulwa, who has played 53 games for DHL Western Province.
“During the Africa Cup in Madagascar, we shared numbers and they started with negotiations. And now I am going there till June next year.”
The versatile forward travelled to France in 2019 as a member of the Springbok Women's Sevens team who won tournaments in Paris and Nancy, and again in 2021 with the Springbok Women, where they played against France in Vannes.
“It is a nice country with a nice vibe in the women’s game, although at the time of me being there, I did not think like about playing there,” she said. “But when the offer came, I said to myself I like France, let me go and see and how it will be playing there.”
Mcatshulwa will celebrate her 28th birthday on 24 December and will spend Christmas away from loved ones this year, but that is all part and parcel of being a professional player, she acknowledged. She will be the first Springbok Women’s player to play for a French club.
Babalwa Latsha and Danelle Lochner (Harlequins Women), Lindelwa Gwala (Ealing Trailfinders Women), Catha Jacobs (Leicester Tigers Women) and Amber Schonert (Sale Sharks Women) are current Springbok Women players in England.
“I did speak to them, and they warned me it is going to be tough in the first couple of months, but also gave me good advice on how to counter being homesick,” Mcatshulwa smiled.
“The language will be an issue I know, but that is all part of the challenge. I wanted to broaden my horizons a bit and push my comfort zone. I am just happy that rugby provided me with that opportunity.”
The club season has started in France and for the flanker it will be straight into the thick of things: “I am fit and ready and getting onto the field and playing soon will help me get into the whole experience much easier.”
The fact that the Springbok Women will be playing the French in next year’s Rugby World Cup is more recent news, but something that will motivate her, Mcatshulwa said: “I can test myself early against those French players that I will play against and that will be part of my motvation, to lay down a marker against them for later.”
Her long association with DHL Western Province will be another motivation.
“I want to play for them as well, they have been part of my journey for so many years,” she said. “And hopefully, early next year during the Women’s Premier Division, they will deliver some special performances on my behalf.”
The French club, who won the national title in 2016, is in a rebuilding phase and Mcatshulwa will boost their ranks. They have amongst others, Canadian prop Alexandria Ellis, French sevens player Alycia Chrystiaens and French U20 representative Hina Ikahehegi on their books. Scotland’s current Test captain, Jade Konkel, and fullback Chloe Rollie also had stints with the club in the past.