‘You’ll never play rugby again’: Groenewald's inspiring journey

EXCLUSIVE: One of the most exciting talents in South African rugby, Springbok Women hooker Anushka Groenewald sheds light on her journey from a near career-ending injury to the green and gold.

The 21-year-old Groenewald was one of the stars during the Springbok Women’s 41-29 victory over Italy in the WXV Global Series.

The hooker scored a brace of tries, including her first Test try during the showdown.

Against Spain, she was again a standout, earning her 13th Test cap during the victory in Seville.

“It’s unbelievable,” Groenewald told Rugby365 when asked about her first Test try, which she scored at the back of a driving maul.

“If it wasn’t for my pack that helped me through that and that basically was just busy moving and dominating them, I wouldn’t have done it without them.

“So it’s just an honour to be able to say that I’ve scored the try, but without them it wouldn’t have been possible.”

The Springbok Women pack has become one of the most prominent and feared units in the women’s game, and Groenewald believes that reputation brings its own pressure.

“There is a bit of pressure for each and every single one of us to make sure that we give every single loss that we have in our system to be able to win the scrum, win the mauls.

“So I would say there’s definitely pressure, but it’s not pressure that we can’t handle. It’s pressure that we take in and we make use of that to be able to dominate them.”

For Groenewald, the road to becoming a professional rugby player started relatively late.

She began playing rugby at the age of 17 at DF Akademie after spending most of her school years playing another sport.

The oval ball, however, quickly captured her imagination.

“I played netball for 12 years and at 17 I didn’t know what my purpose was in life. And then I asked God and He basically put a rugby ball in my hand and I just started playing and fell in love with the sport.

“Through rugby, I’m trying to glorify Him in every single possible way that I can.

“So that’s basically just how I got into rugby. I am trying to be an adventurous person who loves spreading the word of God. I’m a very family-oriented person, so being away from home a lot is quite difficult, especially with this year.

“But I’m travelling the world and that’s always been a dream of mine, as well as being able to play rugby and represent who I am and my family and my country, which was also a dream since very young.”

Telling her parents that she wanted to pursue rugby professionally was never going to be a problem.

Her parents were, however, understandably concerned when injuries began to pile up.

“I have a really supportive family, family that always backs me through my decisions. They know that I don’t really make a lot of bad decisions. So when I do make a decision, they know that it’s something that’s going to uplift me and my family and God.

“So it was the first time I got a concussion, they were like, okay, you’re done. You’re not playing rugby. You’re done with that. And then I broke my ankle and they were like, no, now you’re finished.

“So my mom always said that if you want to play rugby, you have to wear a scrum cap. And funny story, I wore a scrum cap for about the whole entire pathway of my career, but then it shrunk.

“So I’ve been playing the last few games without one and they’re like every single game, ‘Like you need to get a new one, you need to get a new one’. So I’m possibly going to get a new one now.”

Her rise is particularly impressive given the major setback she suffered early in her career.

Doctors told Groenewald that a serious ankle injury had ended her rugby career, but she refused to give up on the sport.

Three years after the injury, she returned to the field and is now establishing herself as an important figure in the Bok Women set-up.

She was one of the standouts for Western Province during the Women’s Super League and was nominated for the SA Rugby Young Player of the Year award in 2025.

For Groenewald, however, the comeback was about more than rugby.

“The first time my ankle broke, they just told me that I would never be able to play rugby again.

“And that was something that was like, ‘Why? I have this joy that the Lord gave me to play the sport. So why is it being taken away from me?’ And I basically went through and I threw that anger onto God and being like, ‘Why did it have to happen to me? I was angry at Him.

“But he said, ‘Just wait and just be faithful and just work hard’.

“And four months later, I started playing again and literally my whole life changed.

“So, I just think you have to be disciplined and be faithful, knowing that it’s not going to happen now, but it isn’t always going to happen when we want it to happen. It’s going to happen in God’s timing. And that was the most important thing for me to be able to realise.”

When asked about her support system, she does not hesitate to list her family.

“My dad can’t stop mentioning when he sees me, ‘Julle kyk hier, hier is die Springbok-speler.’

“And my mom works in a hair salon, so she has a lot of clients that come in and out and in and out. So she just can’t stop talking about it. My granny also, when she walks into a building, everyone knows who my granny is.

“So I feel like it’s giving them some joy as well, which makes me feel like, you know, I’ve given a part of me that’s joyful to them as well, to know that they can also feel joy and they can also be happy through whatever we go through in life.”

Now becoming an established member of the Springbok Women set-up, Groenewald has a message for the young girls watching her journey.

She wants them to pick up a rugby ball and become part of the next generation.

“I would say never give up, like never give up, because you’ll have a lot of setbacks, people and injuries and, you know, just stuff that doesn’t go your way.

“I would say never give up and don’t listen to the negativity in life, because there’s a lot of that, a lot of people saying so much but just having to believe in yourself is one of the most important things, because you can do a lot by just being on yourself.

“You don’t need other people to be able to get you where you are. If you work and you work really hard for what you want, you can get there.

“And girl, we need you, like we need new players, we need the next generation to be able to step up and win the World Cup, to be able to, you know, lift the trophy and play in the World Cup in 2029 or the next one that comes after that.”