Aseza Hele marked her return to the Springbok Women's setup with one of her most impactful performances in recent memory, carrying the ball 16 times for 127 metres as South Africa beat Fiji 55-12 in Suva on Saturday.
The Hermanus loose forward, winning her 33rd cap, had been sidelined since the Women's Rugby World Cup in England last year after hand surgery kept her out of the home series against the USA last month. She described the return as carrying the same emotional weight as her 2018 debut.
"You don't know how much you will miss that jersey until it happens," Hele said from Nadi, where the squad is based for the week. "To be back in the team made the rehab worth the while. The mental side of the rehab is always the toughest — it is 90 per cent mental, 10 per cent physical."
The victory also carried a degree of personal redemption. The last time these two sides met — at the 2022 Women's Rugby World Cup in New Zealand — Fiji scored in the final play to snatch the win. "That defeat in New Zealand was still hurting and with this performance, we buried that for good," Hele said.
The two sides meet again on Saturday at Churchill Park in Lautoka, with kick-off at 13h00 local time (03h00 SA time). Hele expects a sterner test: "We know they will come back stronger. But that is good for us too, as we respond well to pressure."