I started playing rugby at the age of 7. It was me and 15 boys in our U8 team at our local rugby club in Denver, Colorado. I was born in South Africa and we immigrated to the USA when I was 6 years old. I remember watching my mom crying and clinging to my grandma, and my dad holding us tight as we took off from Johannesburg international airport. That day I wore my supporters Springboks (our world famous national rugby team) rugby jersey. I still have that jersey in my cupboard and it still brings back bitter sweet memories of that day. I wanted to hang on to everything that reminded me of my homeland, and it seemed natural that rugby would be the one activity that could keep me close to my ties. My U8 coach said to me one day at training, "I suppose you have watched Invictus, Keira?" I hadn't and told him so. I went home after practice and I shared with my dad what my coach had said to me. That weekend, my dad told us we were going to have a family movie night. We watched "Invictus". It was during that movie that I realized what a great nation I come from. I also realized that night that the sport of rugby is more than just a sport. It brings people together and I watched as Nelson Mandela (Morgan Freeman) united the people of South Africa by wearing a Springbok jersey, a former symbol of apartheid, and encouraging the nation to come together as "one team, one nation". I knew then that I was part of not only a sporting culture that unites people but I knew that I wanted to do what I could to unite people through sport and spread positivity. I am 18 years old now and still playing rugby. I have traveled to many states in the USA playing the sport I love. I have never lost sight of my desire to unite people through sport, especially rugby. I have played with and against people from many different countries here in the USA. I have taken time to learn their stories of how they got to be here and why they love playing the game that I love so much. My rugby has taken me to other parts of the world and given me the opportunity to spread positivity where there was none. In 2019, I played in an U12 Invitational Rugby Tournament in Monaco. I was 1 of 2 girls selected in a co-ed team of 12. We played against a Russian team in the quarter finals and in the dying minutes of the game, and the only girl on the pitch at the time, I scored the winning try for the USA team against the Russian team. It was a proud moment for me. As we walked away, the Russian coach was yelling at his team. The boys were crying, especially the boy who missed tackling me and preventing me from scoring. I turned around and I walked back to the group of Russian players. They went quiet, as I approached, and so did the coach. I walked up to the player who missed tackling me and I shook his hand and thanked him for the game. One by one I shook each players hand and smiled. Lastly, I shook the coaches hand. I turned to leave and I saw all my fellow USA players doing the same. At that moment, "Invictus" was no longer just a movie to me.

I have grown up playing a man's sport. Rugby, is not a sport one would typically associate with a girl playing it. Most of all men. Playing rugby in the youth ranks was brutal. Boys wanting to flex their muscles and tackling harder than they should, or skip passing a ball over my head, were usual tactics I dealt with at youth practices. I resented their treatment of me. But I loved the game too much to quit. Reaching high school and finally being exposed to girls rugby teams felt like I had arrived in rugby nirvana. But a new dimension of challenges were exposed. Selection for All State teams and invitations to top tier rugby tournaments where revered, and proved political at times. My focus was to make these team selections because playing rugby at a national level is my end goal, and these were the pathway to my goals. But somehow, I just never made the cut. Self doubt crept in and my rugby self esteem took a pounding. Yet again, I was dealing with elements of the game that were beyond my control but having the same effect as the boys making hard hits on me and skip passing the ball over my head. I began to question my rugby ability. I began to doubt myself. I realized that if I was going to make this dream happen, I had to up my rugby to the next level. So I spent the summer of 2022 at a rugby academy in California. Working on my game, my skills and my overall rugby understanding. I walked away more confident and armed with a robust set of rugby skills. My outlook changed after I had taken the time to become a student of the game. I realized that to be the best, you have to be better than the rest. I knew my time being humiliated by the boys and losing my confidence, and then being overlooked for selection, were mere obstacles and that changing my mindset and investing in my skills set, and understanding of the game, I was better equipped to make more of an impact than previously. My realization of how to pursue my passion and what I needed to do to be the best, saw a turnaround in how I played. By my Sophomore year, I was selected for the Colorado All State team. That positive development led to me attending a talent ID camp in Colorado for USA Rugby. It was the opportunity I had manifested. It was the opportunity I dreamed of. Two months later, I received an invitation to attend the USA U18 national pathway and development camp in Maryland. I am now classified as a USA Rugby pathway player. It is strange to think that a mere mind shift can make such an impact. It is even stranger to think that what seemed like insurmountable obstacles of people's perception of me was caused by my own state of mind. I am a better rugby player, and person, for rising above my own insecurities. I do believe I have what it takes to be one of the best in the game of rugby and I am looking forward to a phenomenal rugby career in college.