Tuks women on their way to Dubai with excellent team
With several international stars in their ranks, Tuks' women's sevens rugby team should once again give a good account of themselves at this year's Dubai sevens tournament.
The Delta Drone TuksWomensRugby7’s team is hoping to again make their presence felt this weekend when they compete in Dubai Tournament.
It is the 11th time they are competing. The team debuted in Dubai in 2009 and has since not missed playing at this prestigious tournament. On three occasions, they were third in their competition. They ended up winning the Plate Trophy-final three times.
Head coach Riaan van der Merwe is quietly confident that his team give a good account of themselves.
“I don’t want to get ahead of myself. Sevens rugby tends to be unpredictable because of the tempo the game is played at. Two minutes of lapsed concentration could easily cost you 14 points. It is, however, undoubtedly one of the best teams to represent Tuks. Meghan Phillips debuted for the Springboks Sevens-side this year and Libbie Janse van Rensburg has also been training with the Boks recently,” Van der Merwe explained.
He was also excited that the former French national sevens player and captain, Johanna Barde, will be playing for Tuks.
“She was the player of the tournament during the München Oktoberfest. Afterwards, she apologised to me for not being at her best vowing that she is going to train harder for Dubai,” said Van der Merwe.
Maryna Borodina from Ukraine which Van der Merwe consider to be one of the fastest sevens players in the world, will also be playing for Tuks, well as Andrea Atomi from Romania.
Photo: Konrad Lotter
The coach said he has been approached by one of the current best women’s sevens players in the world. She wants to play for Tuks after next year’s Tokyo Olympic Games.
Tyler Botha, who did her post-graduate degree last year at Tuks and is currently playing in Hong Kong, is also included. She can play at scrumhalf or centre. According to Van der Merwe, he can field a dream backline.
“Sevens is about speed. It is something that the three international players and Libbie and Meghan, have no shortage of,” Van der Merwe concluded.
Tuks’s forwards are also no slouches. The likes of Kemi Baloyi and Cinanda Potgieter were impressive during the USSA and Varsity Tournaments scoring try after try. At times they surprised with their incredible acceleration of speed. This time around they got to do the donkey work upfront, but it is a given if they get the ball in hand it is going to take some doing to stop them.
Tuks’s first game is on Thursday when they will be playing Pirates from South Africa. On Friday they are up against Sweden. The game that could possibly decide whether Tuks will progress to the semi-final playoffs is likely going to be the one against Kazaksthan’s Almaty’s.
The Almaty’s won the last encounter in Rome. The previous time Tuks managed to beat them was in 2011.
The Springbok women’s sevens team has withdrawn from playing in Dubai.
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