The Springbok Women have launched a campaign with Project Flamingo that draws a direct line between their ongoing battle for recognition in rugby and the urgent need for better women's healthcare access across South Africa.
The initiative, titled "Make Room for Her" and supported by Engen SA, asks women to follow three steps: check their breasts monthly, notice any changes, and engage with healthcare professionals without delay. To mark the launch, Latsha, Roos, Levy and Qawe visited Groote Schuur Hospital's breast clinic in Cape Town alongside Barrett-Theron, meeting Dr Liana Roodt, Project Flamingo's founder and CEO, and the multidisciplinary care team.
Familiar fight, different arena
For the Springbok Women, the campaign's central message resonates with their own experience. The team has long fought for room on the field, in the sporting conversation, in the media and in stadiums. Project Flamingo's work extends that fight into clinics and treatment pathways, ensuring women are heard and receive timely care.
Barrett-Theron's involvement carries particular weight. The record-breaking Test match referee stepped down from international officiating in July to focus on breast cancer treatment. She has remained active with the Springbok Women, assisting with scrum preparation and other technical areas ahead of their September fixture against the Black Ferns at FNB Stadium.
"This is really close to my heart," Barrett-Theron said. "The two entities run along similar lines. On the field, we advocate for women in the rugby space, and Project Flamingo advocates in the medical space. It is important that we join forces and create a bigger, brighter future and more awareness."
Beyond awareness
Dr Roodt emphasised that the campaign aims for structural change rather than symbolic gestures. "This is not just another breast cancer awareness campaign," she said. "Our women need systems that respond when they speak, pathways that work when they ask for help, and the confidence to claim the space that was theirs all along. We need to stop talking about making room for women and start doing it, because change will not come from talking about it, but rather from building it – from the inside out."
Project Flamingo plays a partnership role in ensuring timely treatment for patients at Groote Schuur's breast clinic, where thousands of women are seen annually. With SA Rugby's backing, the campaign seeks to translate the Springbok Women's growing profile into tangible improvements in healthcare access and outcomes for women across the country.