92 | FORBES AFRICA APRIL 2020INFIRSTPERSON
FORBES AFRICAFORBESAFRICA.COMPhoto suppliedM
YDRIVETO
pursuea career
inphysiotherapy
stemmedfrom
myschooldays.I hadparticipated
ina numberofcommunity
projectswhileatschooland
enjoyedtherewardsofhelping
andunderstandingpeople.I
sawphysiotherapyasa career
thatwouldallowmethatsense
offulfilment.I alsosawthat
sportsbuiltcommunitiesand
menandwomenwereableto
achievetheirdreams.
Oncompletionofmy
communityserviceyear,I
wasunsureofmycareer
pathandappliedforthePhD
scholarship,VLIR-UOS,a
Flemishprogramfunding
researchstudiesinAfricaand
otherdevelopingcountries.
Verylittleresearchhadbeen
doneonnetballplayersin
SouthAfrica.Thesportwas
alsofemale-focused.Mystudy
wasa windowtoempower
women and highlight the sport,Howa small-towngirlcametobeanelitememberofthe
squad that lifted the 2019 Rugby World Cup.‘THE 2019 RUGBY WORLD
CUP WAS HARD WORK’
BYTANUSHREEPILLAY
Thewriterwasborn
inAsherville,Durban,
SouthAfrica.Shewasa
physiotherapisttothe
SouthAfricanteamthat
wonthe 2019 RugbyWorld
Cup.Sheobtainedher
PhDin 2014 andherthesis
investigatedprotocols
forrehabilitativeinjury
preventionamongnetball
players.Shecurrentlylives
in Paris with her family.usingit asa platformtobuildaninjurypreventionprogramina SouthAfricancontext.I wishedto
giveathletesandcoaches,whodidn’tnecessarilyhavethetools,theinformationtheyrequiredina
usableformattobeabletoreachthegrassrootsandempoweryounggirlstoplaythesportwhilstalso
minimizinginjuries.
I startedatSARugbyin2005,withtheSpringbokwomen,U20Womenand7’sWomenteams.In
2016,I wasappointedasa physiotherapistfortheSpringboks.I thinksportisa calling.
It’soneofthoseprofessionswheredoorsopen,opportunitiescome,butyouhavetoworkhard,do
yourbest,stayfocusedandsuccesswillfollow.
Whilstthejobdoesseemglamorous,the 2019 RugbyWorldCupwasdefinitelyhardwork.It
commandedselflessdedicationandfocus.Thereisa jokeintheteamthatthephysioroomrunslike
Americanconveniencestore7-Eleven.Eachphysiorunshis/herownclinic,ina sense,withtheclient
base.Weusuallystartwithtreatmentsaround7AM.Theonlytimewearenottreatingiswhenthe
playersareatmeetings.Weattendalltrainingsessions,wherethefocusismoreonstrapping,on-
fieldinjurymanagementandkeepingtheplayershydrated.Onreturnfromthetraining sessions, we
resumethephysioclinicandcontinuewithinjurymanagementandrecovery.
I feelveryhonoredtobea partofthisunited,successfulteam.
RassieErasmus(theSpringboks’headcoach)andSiyaKolisi(theteam’scaptain)havecrafted
a fairy-taleendingtothisincrediblejourney.
OneofthehighlightswasdefinitelywitnessinghowtheJapaneseembracedtheSouthAfrican
team.ItwassohumblingtoseehowtheschoolkidsevenlearnedtheSouthAfricannationalanthem,
andhadpostersofourflagmade.Theyreallymadeit feellikea homeawayfromhome.
I woulddefinitelyadvisethatyouneedtohavethepassionanddrivetobecommittedatan
internationallevel,tobecomethephysioofeliteteams.It’slonghoursandhardwork.Whendoors
open,youhavetotakeyouropportunitieswithbothhands.
I havea veryunderstandinghusband,whoalsocomesfroma sportsbackground,andhehas
supportedmethroughmyjourney.Whenwiththeteam,I workhard,andwhenI amwithmyfamily,
I amverystrictaboutfamilytime.Generally,I feelI’mabletostrikea balance.I lovetotravel,plan
holidaysandsometimesjustNetflixandorderinfood.
Mygrandmother‘Aya’wasprobablymybiggestinfluence.Sheraisedeightchildrenonherown,
sellingsamosasina marketandsheeducatedeveryoneofthem.
ShetaughtmepreciouslessonsinlifeandI havemybestmemorieswithher.I givecredittomy
parentsforprovidinga studiousenvironmentathome.Theywerealwayssupportiveandalsogave
metheopportunitytoattendgoodschools.
I woulddescribemyselfasdetermined.Nomatterhowlongortoughthejourneymayseem,if I
havecommittedtoit,I giveit myall.
TofeelthepatrioticloveamongstSouthAfricanshasbeensoemotionalposttheWorldCup.It
provesthatwecanbeunitedinourdiversity.Mymessagewouldbetosaythankyouandholdthese
sentimentsclose,tobuilda brighterfuture.Itdoesn’tmatter where you come from, what your creed
or color is; you can achieve even what seems impossible.