Mandisa Williams (born 8 November 1984) is a retired women's rugby union player from Jongilanga,

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. She played for Imonti Penguins, Border Bulldogs and the

South Africa women's national rugby union team The South Africa women's national rugby union team represents South Africa in women's international rugby union and is governed by the South African Rugby Union. They have appeared in three World Cups since their debut in the 2006 Women's Rugby ...

as a Number 8.

Career

Williams started playing rugby for Jogalanga Women, a club founded by her father, in 1999. When she was 16, she was invited to Border Bulldogs trials and was selected for the team to play in the women's

Currie Cup The Currie Cup is South Africa's premier domestic rugby union competition, played each winter and spring (June to October), featuring teams representing either entire provinces or substantial regions within provinces. Although it is the premier ...

. Shortly afterwards she made her international debut for South Africa in 2004. In 2006, she was awarded the South African Rugby Union's Women's player of the year award after playing in South Africa's first women's World Cup campaign at the

2006 Women's Rugby World Cup The 2006 Women's Rugby World Cup (officially IRB Rugby World Cup 2006 Canada) took place in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. The tournament began on 31 August and ended on 17 September 2006. The 2006 tournament was the third World Cup approved by the I ...

. In 2012, Williams was named as captain of the

South Africa women's national rugby sevens team The South Africa women's national rugby sevens team competes at events within the World Rugby Women's Sevens Series and was a core team for 2014–15 season. They first played in the 2009 Rugby World Cup Sevens, and also competed in the IRB Women ...

for the inaugural IRB Women's Sevens Series. During the

2014 Women's Rugby World Cup The 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup was the seventh edition of the Women's Rugby World Cup, and the sixth held in Europe. The World Cup Final took place on 17 August. All of the pool games for the World Cup took place at the Centre National du R ...

, Williams served as captain however after South Africa's first match, she was banned for 16 weeks for

eye-gouging __NOTOC__ Eye-gouging is the act of pressing or tearing the eye using the fingers or instruments. Eye-gouging involves a very high risk of eye injury, such as eye loss or blindness. Eye-gouging as a fighting style was once a popular form of ...

and missed the rest of the tournament. She appealed against this but failed to overturn the ban. Williams retired from rugby in 2016.

Personal life

Williams studied sports management at

Walter Sisulu University Walter Sisulu University (WSU) is a university of technology and science located in Mthatha, East London (Buffalo City), Butterworth and Komani (Queenstown) in the Eastern Cape, South Africa, which came into existence on 1 July 2005 as a result o ...

. Following retirement, she became a sports commentator.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Mandisa Living people 1984 births Rugby union players from the Eastern Cape South Africa national rugby union team captains Border Bulldogs players Women of African descent South African female rugby union players South Africa international women's rugby sevens players South Africa women's international rugby union players