The former Jaguars captain, Marlize de Bruin, has decided to quit netball to focus on playing sevens rugby.
Doing so, she proved a change is as good as a holiday. She will represent the Springbok sevens women’s team in two weeks at the Rugby World Cup in Cape Town.
“Netball was good to me. I am leaving the sport with some incredible memories. Playing netball has also changed my life off the court. While playing, I was privileged to earn two degrees at the University of Pretoria. It is definitely time to move on. I have achieved all I can as a netball player. I needed a new challenge. It is why I took up sevens rugby. There was not a moment I regretted doing so.
“I might decide to play netball again in three or four years from now, but it will only be in the Telkom Netball League. But for now my focus is on being the best I can as a sevens rugby player.”
There were often references to De Bruin being South Africa’s fittest netball player. She has the distinction of being part of teams that won every major local tournament. A definite highlight was playing for the Jaguars, which won the National Netball League for five consecutive years. Her one regret was never getting an opportunity to play for the Proteas.
Her transition from a centre with a passion for outwitting the opposition team’s defence on a netball court to a try-scoring winger on a rugby field is remarkable. She only started playing sevens rugby in March.
She got her first taste of international rugby in April when the Delta Drone Tuks team played in France and Scotland. It did not take her long to impact the game. She scored three tries during the Melrose Sevens Tournament game.
Tuks’s head coach, Riaan van der Merwe, already then predicted that De Bruin is good enough to play for the Springboks.
“I am impressed by Marlise’s tactical savviness. She can change the direction of the game at any moment. She has a brilliant sidestep. More importantly, she is a quick learner.”
During the recent Sevens Challenger Series Tournament in Santiago, Chile, she scored two tries for the Boks.
According to De Bruin, the biggest challenge she faced when she started to play rugby was going for big tackles.
“Getting tackled did not faze me. Netball is not a non-contact sport. There were games I got knocked down every so often. But I got to admit I was scared at first to tackle anyone. You really got to put your body on the line. Go in hard.
“But in seven’s rugby, you can’t forever shy away from your responsibilities. There was that one game where I was the last defender. Scared as I was, I knew I had no choice. I had to go for the tackle. If I did not, it would have meant points against us. I made it, and I am glad I did.”
De Bruin’s elder brother, Luan, is currently playing rugby in Edinburgh. She laughs when she recounts his reaction to hearing that she is Springbok. Apparently, he used the same phrase a mom used when her daughter, Marelize, hit a rugby pole while learning to cycle. But his was more in jest because his sister has pipped in the race to become a Springbok.
Photo credit: Reg Caldecott
