She's the GOAT – Tributes pour in for retiring Springbok woman captain Nolusindiso Booi

Springbok prop Babalwa Latsha, alongside coach Syws de Bruyn, have paid tribute to outgoing captain Nolusindiso Booi after the team’s Rugby World Cup quarterfinal defeat to the Black Ferns.

Booi, 40, holds the record as the most capped Bok Women player of all time with 55 appearances, while she has also captained her country 26 times – another team record. Latsha has co-captained with Booi during the Rugby World Cup where the Boks made history by winning two group matches to reach the knockout stages for the first time. 

“She’s a phenomenal human being, a phenomenal player, a stalwart,” said the experienced front-row forward, who scored the Boks’ first try in the quarter-final.

“She’s been around for a very long time, and I’ve had the privilege of playing alongside her and leading alongside her as well. It was her last game (Saturday), she’s finally resting, and I think that her legacy is one that’s incredible.”

De Bruin paid his due to the skipper during an emotional post-match press conference, calling her the greatest of all time (GOAT).

“What a captain!” De Bruyn said. “She is the GOAT. This is the GOAT. 

“I think she’s like 58 … just joking … what this lady does for the team. The glue behind everything with her leadership. We look up to her.”

Booi was equally emotional after playing her last match in the green and gold.

"I'm so emotional right now but I am also proud of the progress of our team,” Booi said.

“For us it was a great moment. It's something that we had never tasted. The taste was good and it's something that the girls will fight for going forward. I feel that we did good and for sure the young generation will push for the final, hopefully next time."

Latsha feels that Booi has left a legacy at this Rugby World Cup and hopes to take it further at future tournaments.

“I hope this has encouraged and inspired a generation of young people, they can dream as big as they can and they actually see their true value and live up to their fullest potential,” Latsha said.

“Our journey is one that’s ongoing, so we can never truly say that it’s been reached, but it’s a pinnacle. It’s a cusp of a wave that needs to continue and will continue here in South Africa and all over the world.

“Talent is something we’re not short of in South Africa, and it’s important for us to keep playing top nations because that makes us better as well, it gives us a better feel of what international rugby is about.”