A year ago, aged just 19 years old, Byrhandrѐ Dolf made her Test debut at fullback for the Springbok Women, and she has since played a further eight Tests for South Africa, amongst others at flyhalf and wing, which probably makes her a female version of Frans Steyn.
Formerly from Eastern Province, from where she captained the Junior Springbok Women, Dolf is now a full-time professional with the Bulls Daisies, with whom she won the Women’s Premier Division last year.
A couple of months after she was instrumental as the Bok Women won the Rugby Africa Cup, and then showed what the future looks like by showing her mettle in WXV 2 in Cape Town in October.
When duty called, she joined the Springbok Women’s Sevens team on the HSBC SVNS, playing in the Cape Town and Perth tournaments in December in January.
Having just arrived in Edinburgh from Cape Town via Johannesburg and London, Dolf was keen to get going and to put a year’s experiences into play on the team’s 2024 European Tour. A training match against Scotland awaits early next week, followed by another against Wales next Saturday. And then, two Test matches against Spain and the USA to finish the trip.
“Yes, we have a busy time ahead, but we would not want it any other way,” said Dolf upon arrival in the Scottish capital.
“We have seen how much the experiences gained last year improved all of us – individually and as a team – and there is no doubt in my mind that the same will happen after this tour.
“We are chasing small improvements on this tour. If we can improve by one percent every day on tour, we will return home next month a much better team.”
After such a full year of rugby in two different codes, Dolf confirmed that her energy levels are still high.
“The sevens experience was great for me, although physically very demanding,” she said.
“I want to play sevens again in future for sure, but for now I want to focus on this team and with them, become the best team we can be.
“On a personal note, the objective on this tour is to more decisive in my decision-making, something I feel will improve as I gain experience in being the driver and playmaker.
“Although I am one of the younger players in the squad, the seniors are great in allowing me to be more assertive in my role. I also want to fulfil the job the coaches are expecting of me on this trip.”
Opulent Gamer
France is one of the Six Nations Championship participants.
High Woo
Rugby union was only classified as a professional sport in 1995 – When a schism formed and rugby became rugby league and rugby union in 1895, rugby union was no longer considered a professional sport. Shockingly, this remained the case until a century later, when in 1995, it was given the same recognition afforded to rugby league.