.jpg)
Sinaida Aura's treacherous rugby journey starting out at basketball and involving two retirements
.jpg)
Reading Time: 4min | Thu. 03.10.24. | 15:14
The retired player was the first Lionesses to go pro after her stint with Beantown RFC in the USA
Former Kenya Lionesses player Sinaida Aura wears her aura just like her name; bold, passionate, and unyielding.
She is known for her dedication to the sport and has become a beacon of strength and resilience both on and off the field. Aura is the current Nondies RFC team manager.
The retired player was the first Lionesses to go pro after her stint with Beantown RFC in the USA.
From her bold nature, one would naturally be curious to understand the journey that led her into rugby.
.jpg)
Early days into rugby
For her, sports was not new. Basketball had been her go-to at Railways Club.
It was during one of these sessions, sweating it out on the court, that she noticed a group of women in the distance, grinding through an intense rugby workout. That scene sparked something inside her.
“I wanted to work out like that and be that strong,” she recalled.
Soon after, she joined them for a training session, and her rugby journey began. Her early days were not without challenges.
Initially, she tried out at Kenya Harlequin, but an encounter with a player who hit her hard during training sent her searching for another team.
.jpg)
She eventually found herself at Mwamba Rugby Club, then Northern Suburbs, making her debut in April 2015 during the Nax 10s.
However, the life of a rugby player is never easy. The biggest challenge was finding a balance between work and rugby.
"The journey had its ups and downs, but the downs were more," she started.
“We had big dreams as a team and sacrificed a lot for that dream. Even if you were employed, you would sometimes go to work late or miss work due to training. I lost a couple of jobs,” she continued.
Employers, initially drawn to her sporty persona, soon found it challenging to deal with her training schedule, absences, and remote work due to differing time zones whenever she travelled.
Fortunately, her last employer before retirement was more understanding and supportive than the others.
Pre-mature retirement
In 2020, during the global COVID-19 pandemic, her rugby career came to a sudden halt.
.jpg)
The world was in lockdown, and everyone was grappling with personal loss and uncertainty.
For her, it was the death of a close friend that shook her to her core. She made a decision; one driven by emotion rather than careful thought and released a public retirement notice. What followed was unexpected.
“When I released it, I broke down and had the worst panic attack. I was so confused because I wanted it (retirement statement) out, but then I felt bad about it,” she recalled.
Though she had retired, rugby was not done with her. She returned to the technical bench and requested another chance to play, and the team welcomed her back. Her resilience saw her back on the pitch in 2021.
“It was tough because I was battling a lot of things; weight, mental health, but by God’s grace, I coped,” she said.
Tokyo Olympics experience
Perhaps the pinnacle of her career came with the Tokyo Olympics.
But even that experience was marred by the realities of the pandemic.
“Movement was limited. Social distancing was a thing. You could not even talk to an athlete you’ve been seeing on TV,” she recalled.
Half of the team was in isolation until just two days before the tournament, training virtually and enduring psychological torment.
The Lionesses finished 10th overall in Tokyo. They began their Pool A campaign with a 7-29 loss to eventual gold medalists New Zealand before going down 12-35 to the Russian Olympic Committee and 0-31 to Great Britain.
They would then dig deep to defeat hosts Japan 21-17 in their 9th place semifinal before falling to a 24-10 defeat to Canada in the 9th place final.
After the Olympics, she found peace, knowing that she had given her all.
Second retirement
With that sense of closure, her second retirement came quietly.
“I told myself that hii kiherehere haifai (this fuss isn't necessary),” she reflected with a chuckle.
While she jokes about waking up one day with fresh bones and good knees to give it another shot, she is content watching from the sidelines, cheering for Nondies as they grow and evolve.
“Sometimes, when the boys become stubborn, I feel like Karma is on me because I used to do similar things as a player,” she offered.
Life after retirement
Now, in retirement, life is much simpler and more enjoyable.
“As a player, there was so much to worry about; training, job, injury, making the team, lack of money, and other issues. Now, I am in a very happy place,” she said.
Adventure has taken over as her new passion. No weekend finds her indoors, as she has embraced out-of-town and even out-of-country biking trips.
“Aura the explorer,” she said proudly.
.jpg)
