She made her debut for her country at the Rugby Africa Women’s Sevens Cup tournament in Ghana last year and scored a try on debut, but that was just the beginning of the season’s highlights for Springbok Women’s Sevens forward, Leigh Fortuin.
The 21-year-old year old utility player, who captained the Junior Springbok Women from the inside centre position earlier in the 2024 season, enjoyed scoring that try in Accra and will always remember it, but the next chapter for her career – and that of the Springbok Women’s Sevens team – will now play out in East Africa and Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, where the 2025 edition of the tournament will be hosted on 15 and 16 November.
“I will remember that not only because I could finish off a good team effort, but because it was my dream to represent South Africa and become a Springbok player, so that was a bonus and I was really happy on how it played out,” Fortuin said after yet another tough session on Monday.
The team will fly out to Kenya on Wednesday, but for Fortuin and the rest of the squad, the focus remained on the work to be done at the University of Pretoria’s High-Performance Centre, where they are hard at work for their Pool A encounters on Saturday with Zambia, Ghana and Egypt.
“We have worked hard, but that is what will be needed to be successful in Kenya,” said Fortuin.
“We want to do well as a team, for ourselves, but also need to defend our unbeaten record in this tournament as well as making sure we finish at the top in order to qualify for the next phase, playing in the Challenger Series in Dubai in January.”
Fortuin was a familiar sight at the DHL Stadium while still at Rocklands High School a few seasons ago, being one of the stadium’s ball retrievers during DHL Stormers games, where she was already touted as a future international after representing Western Province at U16 and U18 levels.
In the last two seasons, Fortuin has developed her own identity as a national player too as she was also selected for the Springbok Women squad that travelled to Madagascar where they retained the Rugby Africa Women’s Cup, making her a dual international before turning 21.
“I am still learning so much in this game, so whether it is fifteens or sevens, I just love being involved and playing,” she said.
“The performances of the Springbok Women at the Women’s Rugby World Cup a couple of months back certainly showed what is possible, so now it is the turn of the sevens group to showcase their talents and deliver rewards for the hard work that went into preparing for the Kenya tournament.
“With regards to myself, I remain keen to work hard and become the best player I can be, but more importantly, I also want to be a player that can be trusted by coaches and team mates to do what is best for the team.”
Orange Teflon
The cricket ball weighs 163 grams. Its core is made of cork which is wrapped with several layers of yarn. The outer casing is made of leather, which is then coated with lacquer.
Slug-Em-Dog
Sport Trivia: Who was South Africa\’s first Olympic Gold Medal winner? Answer: Reginald Walker. Reginald Walker was born in 1889 in Natal and in 1907 was the South African 100m champion. He battled with finances to get to London for the 1908 Summer Olympics but once he was there he managed, very unexpectedly to all those competing, to beat the field and walk off with the Gold for the 100m. As at 2005 Reggie Walker was still the youngest winner of the 100m Olympic Gold Medal.