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Catha Jacobs: 'I had to make a choice: keep rowing or devote to rugby'
Extend legs, curl them; extend legs, curl them; repetition, repetition and more repetition. This was Catha Jacobs’ world before she became one of the Springbok Women‘s leading figures.
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At one stage the 27-year-old split her life between rugby and rowing, spurred on by the encouragement of a young rower called Lifa Hlongwa.
“Because of Lifa, I tried it and became captivated by the sport. For six months, my life was split between rowing and rugby, with Lifa always motivating me to keep going on,” said the 19-time-capped Springbok.
“At some point I had to make a choice: keep rowing or devote (my life) to rugby. My parents wanted me to stay with the former, but I really wanted the rugby dream.
“I loved rowing but it was the same thing over and over again. The excitement wasn’t there for me, and as rugby was packed with thrilling new challenges, it made it easier for me to make a decision,” said the second row.
Jacobs grew up in her family’s farm, always running around and trying her best to help her father, being one of the four Jacobs siblings. In school, she was always adept of sports, and, at some point, her life crossed paths with rugby, even if it was just for a brief and short time.
“My primary school took us to a sports tournament, and I remember seeing two girls playing rugby in one of the participating teams. I went back to my school and tried to play rugby with the boys.
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“A week later, the principal told me that I couldn’t play it, as the school didn’t allow it. That was the final time I held a rugby ball until my early 20s.”
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And its testament to the player she is, that despite being discouraged from the sport for being female, she did not give up on the oval ball.
“Rugby had caught my attention, and one day I went to watch some girls from the University of Johannesburg train.”
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After joining the university team and experimenting with rugby, she quickly went from being someone who was having fun to being picked for the South Africa 7s programme.
“My first game (for University of Johannesburg) was against the South Africa national sevens team. After the game, Paul Delport came to me and asked my story. He invited me to join the 7s national team camp and after a few times, he offered me a full contract. Unfortunately, Covid struck and everything was halted.”
Luckily Jacobs’ tale didn’t end in 2020, and from the sevens format, she made the leap to the 15s.
“Because of Covid, the sevens and 15s programmes were grouped under the same system, and the union asked which of the 7s team wanted to play 15s. I never saw myself playing 15s because of how much harder the contact was, but when the opportunity came, my hand sprung into the air, with me saying that I wanted to give it a go.
“I never thought that I would end up playing sevens, and then I was playing it. The same happened with the 15s and me going to England. The world of rugby just opened up to me, and I had to go through those doors. When I raised my hand, I felt it was the right step for me. It was exciting times.”
She earned her first cap in a match against Kenya, looking good in a physically demanding clash and Stanley Raubenheimer, South Africa’s former head coach, kept his trust in Jacobs with the 181cm-tall utility forward travelling to Europe in the autumn of 2021.
In-between the tour something amazing would happen to her, with an email falling into her inbox. An email that would change her life (yet again).
“I got an email from Lewis Sones (Saracens Women’s Performance Pathway Manager), and I thought it was a scam at first glance. I showed it to our High Performance Manager, Lynne Cantwell, and she said she would look into it.
“How could it be real? However, it was real. I was shocked. It was Saracens, (who play in) Premiership Women’s Rugby, a league packed with so many talents and great players. I still can’t believe that email was real.”
To recap… Jacobs only started playing rugby in 2019, was added to the 7s national team one year later, made her 15s Test Match debut in 2021, and was offered her first pro contract in the same year. However, all of this meant leaving her whole world behind to embrace a new life.
“It wasn’t easy for me to proceed. I had to stay behind after the tour. I had to say goodbye to my friends and teammates who were going back home, while I was waiting to travel to England. I kept thinking if I was making the right decision.”
However, the second guessing stopped almost immediately with Jacobs jumping on a plane and signing a contract with Saracens and staying at the StoneX for two seasons. While she had the chance to develop as a player, the forward deeply missed her home.
“I struggled mentally in the first season, as I was not used to the weather or the food. It was a complete change of pace for me. I missed home, my family and friends. However, I learnt so much in that first season, and my Sarries teammates helped me every step of the way.
“Grace Moore, Sharifa Kasolo, Fiona McIntosh, Mari Venter and Maya Montiel, just to name a few, were always there for me. We are still really good friends.”
Even if she longed for the golden plains of South Africa, Jacobs didn’t give up and would eventually have her first taste of PWR glory when, in 2022, she helped the Saracens to win the competition. Although she featured in a few more games in the following season, the lock wanted more and decided to move on, enlisting herself in the Leicester Tigers ranks.
“I got to a stage in my career that I needed more game time. I loved my time as a Sarries player, but if I was going to step up, I had to play more.
(Former England prop) Rocky Clark, who was moving to Tigers, talked with me and I made the decision to move there. I knew I was leaving a great setup to move to a new one, but I had to challenge myself.”
Even if the Tigers are still finding their footing in the league, Jacobs believes that they will be able to mount a title challenge in the future. Right now, it is all about building the right environment.
“We struggled to win games, but we were primarily focused on setting up the team’s culture and creating our own environment. Maybe we don’t have the same resources as some of the top-level teams of the PWR, but you have to start from somewhere.”
With the 2025 World Cup just around the corner, Jacobs admits that all three past years’ effort was made with the sole goal of helping her country deliver something special at the grandest stage.
“I have been working hard for the past three years to do well when the World Cup comes. I want to up my performances from the last tournament. However, I have another main goal, which is to help women’s rugby in South Africa grow. We need to build the next generation. We have to keep the path open for them to walk through it.”
The Springbok Women are like a family, and this is one of their biggest assets which can boost their chances of creating history when the tournament kicks off, as Jacobs states.
“Without wanting to look too much ahead, it would be grand if we got through to the knockout stages, something South Africa have never done before. We would love to provide a shock.
“It is always an honour to put on the green and golden jersey. It has meant everything to me. You never know when it will be your last time, which makes every Test Match special.”
South Africa sit in Pool D and will kick off their World Cup campaign against Brazil on Sunday 24th August at Franklin’s Gardens.
New tickets for Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 are now available, with prices starting at £10 for adults and £5 for children. Buy now!
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