In 2018, Bianca Augustyn started playing competitive rugby. Four years later, she represented South Africa in the Springbok Women’s Sevens squad. Now, rugby forms an integral part of her identity.
Bianca Augustyn did not envision herself in a sports-related career. But rugby changed that. After her first game for Stellenbosch University in 2018 against the University of Cape Town, Bianca thought, “Oh, I might be doing this for a while.” PHOTO: Annemieke Thomaidis
In February 2018, Bianca Augustyn was in Stellenbosch University’s (SU) gym, shedding off the inevitable ‘freshman 15’. She was a second year at the time and was minding her own business on the elliptical machine when “a random dude” approached her. This man was a fitness instructor leading the Maties women’s rugby fitness sessions. He suggested she join the training.
“I didn’t [even] know there was rugby,” she said. She decided to give it a chance. “Since then, I’ve never looked back.”
Bianca has since gone on to captain the victorious Maties side in the inaugural Varsity Cup women’s tournament in 2023, represented South Africa in the Springbok Sevens side at the Commonwealth Games in 2022, and in the HSBC World Rugby Sevens series in 2024. She has also won the Rugby Tens Championship in the United States with her club, the Cape Town Wild Dogs.
But, prior to this, Bianca had never played rugby competitively– only with her family and once a term in high school.
Funny story…
Bianca was born and raised in Vredenburg, a small town on the West Coast. She recalls her grandmother picking her up from school, helping with homework, and sharing family dinners each evening.
“[I] had a good childhood, but I think it started with having good parents, good grandparents, to really set a good foundation,” said Bianca.
Before joining Maties in 2018, Bianca’s encounters with rugby were merely casual.
“I’ve always liked rugby,” she said. “Growing up I played a lot of rugby in the street with my cousins and my dad.”
To her father, Ockie Augustyn, it came as no surprise she got involved with rugby at university. “Bianca was always interested in sport and loved it. From riding a kick scooter to bicycle and later athletics,” he said.
“Bianca [Augustyn] started off quiet and grew more as a leader in our environment,” said Johann Zeier, who coached her when she played for Stellenbosch University. “[She] took big steps forward as a leader when she lifted her standards and expectations for what can happen on the field for the team,” said Zeier. PHOTO: Annemieke Thomaidis
In an open day held at her primary school, Bianca, during a video presented by Hopefield High, noticed a clip of girls playing rugby. Assuming they had a formal team, her interest peaked, and she ended up attending the school. Turns out, they did not have rugby, said Bianca. Instead, it was an end-of-term match the school organised for the girls.
Then, she came to Stellenbosch and, through the chance encounter in the gym, found her way to the university’s women’s team.
“[Bianca] was a valued addition at the time,” said Johann Zeier, former head coach for the SU’s women’s team between 2018 and 2024. Most of the team members were new to rugby, but Bianca “was already a few steps ahead” with some skills and a good understanding of the game, he said.
SU was in the early stages of reviving women’s rugby after “years where it didn’t exist at all”, said Zeier.
“At that time, [the training] was still at the volleyball pits,” said Bianca. “So, we trained rugby in the sand because we didn’t have a field to train [on].”
Women’s rugby at SU has come a long way since then, with the team competing in various tournaments across all formats, said Bianca. The most memorable for her was the 2023 Varsity Cup, where Bianca captained the Maroon Machine to a commanding 63–9 victory over the University of Johannesburg. That was the first time the tournament had created a division for women to participate, according to the Varsity Cup website.
“[Rugby] has changed my life,” said Bianca. It gave her a platform to express who she was and find out who she wanted to be, she said.
As a player, Bianca Augustyn had a ritual on game day: she would wear the same socks, underwear, and bra when playing matches. She admitted she has now carried this ritual over to coaching. PHOTO: Annemieke Thomaidis
Springbok debut
While she was still at university, Bianca made her debut for the Springbok Sevens side at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England.
“It was a really good experience playing in front of a crowd of […] probably 40 000+ people,” she said, looking over the stands at the Danie Craven Stadium.
“You just get chills when you put on your first Springbok jersey […] I was a bit teary.”
To reach this level in sport and in such a short amount of time takes considerable hard work and consistency, said Zeier.
“In the professional sports world, there are no shortcuts […] or easy ways to the top. Even if there were, Bianca wouldn’t be interested.”
The dark tunnel of injuries
Fresh off her Varsity Cup victory in 2023, Bianca was once again called up to the Springbok Sevens squad.
While training with them, Maties were competing in a University Sports South Africa (USSA) Sevens tournament. Despite concerns from the Springboks coaching team that the risk of injury could be high, Bianca still played.
In the semi-final, she dislocated her shoulder.
“I had to go for surgery,” said Bianca, pulling down the collar of her shirt to reveal a scar along her collarbone. “I was out for four months.”
Keeping her hand placed over the scar, she admitted how frustrated she was during the healing process.
“[It] was really tough because I missed a lot of sevens opportunities for the Springbok team that I could have played.”
Bianca Augustyn was selected to play in the Los Angeles leg of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens series in 2024, two weeks after coming back from injury: a dislocated shoulder. “Hard work really does pay off,” she said. PHOTO: Supplied/Bianca Augustyn
“But there was a light at the end of the dark tunnel.”
In March 2024, approximately two weeks after coming back from injury, Bianca was selected to play in the Vancouver and Los Angeles legs of the HSBC World Rugby Sevens series, earning her first official Springbok cap.
“We were so proud of what she accomplished after her injury,” said Ockie. “[She] never gave up through rehab, stuck to her guns and made the team.”
Switching jerseys
Alongside her rugby commitments, Bianca was also completing an undergraduate degree in civil engineering and started a master’s degree, where she focuses on nanobubble technology in concrete.
“We are really proud of how Bianca made time for both rugby and academics,” said her father. “Although I think rugby is her first choice.”
Bianca Augustyn has been an assistant coach for the Maties women’s rugby squad since 2024. PHOTO: Annemieke Thomaidis
In 2024, Bianca decided to take a break from her master’s after two years of trying to complete it, citing the arduous work involved. During that year Bianca switched her maroon player’s jersey for a black ‘assistant coach’ shirt and whistle.
“[Coaching] really changes your perspective on how you look at the game […] You just see things differently,” said Bianca.
Although she’s not currently on the field, Bianca fully intends to keep playing rugby for as long as her body allows and while opportunities still come her way.
She is determined to stay involved in the sport in any way she can.
In 2022, Bianca Augustyn started playing for the Cape Town Wild Dogs, a rugby club which reignited her passion for rugby after facing a high-pressure environment at the Springboks, she said. PHOTO: Annemieke Thomaidis