There is no doubt that sport has the power to help people rise above adversity, and none more than Hollywoodbets Sharks WXV and Springbok Women’s flyhalf and fullback Mary Zulu.
Her rise started as a young teen and she has never looked back. Hers is a remarkable story of fortitude, passion and determination.
“I never planned on playing rugby at this level, I started playing with my siblings when I was about 10 years old, started at home and then at school, before playing at the Academy where I studied,” she explains.
“But when I was playing with my siblings, my guardian dad came to me and said, ‘I can see how passionate you are about the sport, and how much you enjoy playing,’ and since then, I came to realise that even though I didn’t know at the time there were opportunities out there, it was something I wanted to do, and eventually succeed at.”
Later on, when she was 14 or 15 years old, her sibling was playing at a club and he told her they had a female team and would she like to join him there?
“From that day, everything just kind of took off, coaches became aware of me, as did the Hollywoodbets Sharks.”
Making the Springboks makes all the effort and hard work worthwhile.
“It was a huge milestone for me, it was an important phase of my life and making the Springbok team was a dream come true. When I first got the call in December 2022 saying I had made the team, I was in disbelief, it was so surreal!
“As soon as I got the message, I told my guardian dad, he was the first to know.”
Orphaned as a baby and raised in Mandini, KZN, the rugby rewards she has received are abundant. A rugby scholarship saw her studying towards a B.Sc in Sport Science at UKZN and it has been rugby that has afforded her the opportunity to travel the world.
With 14 international caps behind her since making her debut against Canada in Madrid in March 2023, she now looks ahead to the Women’s Rugby World Cup.
“I’m very excited, this is my first World Cup and we’re all looking forward to playing in the best way possible.”
Representing women, and talented women all around, this opportunity she has been given [nay, earned], shows just what is possible and the empowerment that sport has the potential to deliver.
“Playing sport is fun, but being introduced to the professional side of it takes us to another level as women.
“We appreciate how much we are given and supported, but also how much we can do as players and management to encourage and inspire, as long as people invest in us.
“Young girls look up to us, people support the women’s game, they are there for us and they keep us going.
“We really appreciate that.”
