Tuks’s coaches’ and athletes’ vision and passion have led to many memorable moments in South African sports.
There was the “Awesome Foursome”, who won gold in rowing during the 2012 London Olympic Games. Kirsten McCann won a rowing world title. Luvo Manyonga won gold and silver in the long jump at the World Champs and Olympic Games. Caster Semenya’s running exploits in the 800 metres were legendary. There are many more such moments.
The past month (April) it was the Springbok Women’s Sevens who claimed a hard-fought 17-14 victory over Belgium in the final of the second weekend of the Challenger Series in Stellenbosch to qualify for the Sevens World Series next season. It is the breakthrough for which women’s rugby in South Africa has been hoping.
Five of the winning Springbok team’s players – Nadine Roos, Marlize de Bruin, Kemi Baloyi, Libbie Janse van Rensburg and Liske Lategan – started honing their rugby skills under the guidance of Riaan van der Merwe (Tuks women’s sevens coach).
Those who saw them play for Tuks won’t be surprised to hear that Roos and Janse van Rensburg combined to score the winning try in the weekend’s final.
In the dying minutes, South Africa had scrum 5 metres from the Belgium try line. Roos picked up from the base and passed to flyhalf Libbie Janse van Rensburg, who darted to the short side and dotted down in the corner to take the score to 17-14. The two have executed similar heroics playing for Tuks countless times in international tournaments.
As has become the norm, Roos was the standout player during the tournament. She scored 78 points across the weekend, more than any other player (10 tries and 14 conversions).
For Janse van Rensburg scoring the winning try was not the only memorable moment. There was that moment during the first Challenger Tournament when she made a match-winning tackle against China in the semifinal.
“With time running out, we had a narrow 5-0 lead. One of the Chinese players broke clean through. I was in the last line of defence. I knew I had to make the tackle for us to win. I don’t know how, but I found my top speed. It might be the fastest I ever ran on a rugby field. It is undoubtedly one of the best cover defence tackles I have ever executed.”
Janse van Rensburg would not mind playing sevens rugby for the Boks again, but she favours the 15-player code.
“I think it might be difficult for players to play both codes, especially from next year. Who is going to play which code is going to be SARU’s decision.”
Janse van Rensburg admits that the current depth in South African women’s rugby might make it difficult to field a competitive Bok women’s team and a Bok Sevens team.
She added that it might be easier to recruit players for sevens as local female athletes have yet to totally buy into the idea of playing rugby.
“The thing with sevens is that it favours smaller and fast players, while players of all body types can play the 15-code. So it is sort of Catch22-situation.”
