School Rugby Stars Earn Historic SA Schools Girls Call-Up

Photo Credit: Curro

Inga Jim and Lethokuhle Madwayi have been selected for South Africa’s first-ever SA Schools Under-18 Girls rugby teams, with Inga named captain.

Cape Town, South Africa (31 August 2026) – The excitement was still fresh after Curro Delft’s final pool match when Inga Jim and Lethokuhle Madwayi discovered they had been selected for something that had never existed before.

Both teenagers have been named in South Africa’s first-ever SA Schools Under-18 Girls rugby teams, with Inga taking on the added honour of captaining the inaugural side.

For Lethokuhle, the news took a little time to sink in. Her teammates had already started celebrating and insisting she had made the squad, but she only believed it after hearing her name called three times.

“The first thing I did was cry,” she says. “I did not expect to make it at all.”

Inga’s moment was equally emotional. As the selections were announced following the team’s final pool game against Eastern Province, she quietly repeated “please, Lord” to herself until her name was called.

“A wave of emotion hit me instantly,” she recalls. “I was overwhelmed by happiness and relief.”

Inga’s rugby journey started at just 13 when Curro Delft introduced a girls’ team. Keen to follow in her older brother’s footsteps, she gave it a shot and has not looked back.

She has since represented Western Province for three consecutive years and played for the Western Cape U15 sevens and fifteens teams in 2023. Now, she will line up as a loose or utility forward and lead a group that is helping shape a new chapter in South African school rugby.

For Lethokuhle, rugby was a much less planned affair. Having previously played hockey and tennis, she joined the school’s girls’ rugby team on a whim and quickly found a sport where she felt at home.

She has been selected as a prop and says the game has helped her grow in confidence, while the support of her family and coaches helped her recognise potential she was still discovering in herself.

Left to right Alcardo van Graan, Head of Sport at Curro Delft, Inga Jim, Lethokuhle Madwayi and Ruan Beukes, Executive Head at Curro Delft.

The inaugural programme features two 26-player SA Schools Girls squads who will face each other at Grey High School, another milestone for the development of women’s rugby.

While SA Schools boys’ teams have been part of the rugby landscape for decades, the introduction of the girls’ sides marks a significant step forward.

Western Province has the strongest representation across the two squads, with 15 players selected, including Inga and Lethokuhle.

Ruan Beukes, Executive Head of Curro Delft, says the selection reflects the determination and growth both players have shown throughout their rugby journeys.