On Shoshanah Seumanutafa’s fifth birthday, her brother Caleb was born. But she was more excited about the nurses giving her a big chocolate bar than a new baby brother.
“I didn't even care that he was born. I was like, ‘oh, I got a chocolate bar, that's great,’” she said with a laugh.
Now, things are different — Shoshanah refers to Caleb as her “birthday gift,” and the two play on the UBC women’s and men’s rugby teams respectively.
The siblings from White Rock, BC, grew up in a rugby family, the kind that played pick-up games, so it wasn't new to them. But neither Shoshanah nor Caleb pursued rugby right away.
Shoshanah was a soccer player until grade 12,and only started playing rugby in grade 10. After playing both sports for a while, she stopped playing soccer and ultimately chose rugby for its physicality and playmaking.
“What I find fun about rugby is using your footwork to step other people up. Not many other sports have that aspect of it,” she said.
After choosing UBC with her dad’s guidance, Shoshanah’s university rugby career has been nothing short of incredible.
She helped her team to win three consecutive rugby Canada West (CW) Championships as well as the team’s first CW Championship for rugby sevens. She has also been named CW Player of the Year twice.
Caleb, on the other hand, started playing rugby in grade six after being sick of baseball’s slow pace. Unlike his sister, there was no specific moment where he decided to stick with rugby. He just loved its quick action and and the way it made him feel.
“I was like, ‘I need to move more’,” he said.
Caleb attributed his choice to come to UBC to its academic reputation and resources for athletes. Even though Shoshanah has made a name for herself, Caleb, who is going into his second year, doesn’t let his sister’s successful career get to him. He said it acts more as motivation than pressure.
“The goal is to either meet the amount of accomplishments [she has], or surpass it. So it's less pressure and more like, ‘Oh, I gotta step up my game' kind of thing.” he said.
Although Shoshanah has now graduated, she plans to play internationally and keep up with her brother’s athletics.
“I've tried to give him my advice. Whether he listens to it, I don't know,” she said. “But definitely trying to be a mentor figure for him.”
Being rugby mentors is something the Seumanutafa family is familiar with. Shoshanah and Caleb's dad, Pose Seumanutafa, is the skills coach for Trinity Western University’s women’s rugby team. But before that, he was their first coach too.
“[My dad] is like the backbone of our little rugby family, where he's just kind of taught us everything we know,” said Caleb.
Shoshanah echoed the sentiment.
“He is definitely my biggest supporter and also my biggest critic, but I think that's a good thing,” she said.
The pair agreed that being in a family of rugby athletes makes it easier to improve and stay motivated.
“If I have questions or if I’m frustrated, even when I'm at home, I can just go out with my family and fix things. I don't have to rely on coaches [at UBC] because I know their schedules are really busy,” Caleb said.
Even with their own lives and games, the two find the time to support each other at the other’s games, cheering from the sidelines.
Rugby has brought the Seumanutafa siblings closer together – both on and off the pitch.
“We have a good relationship,” Caleb said regarding his sister. “We're friends. We can hang out. Talking about rugby is always there, but it's not all we talk about.”