Evolved Dolf ready to take flight against USA
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Byrhandré Dolf believes her return from the sevens circuit has made her a more complete player, and the Springbok Women utility back is eager to showcase those improvements when South Africa face the USA at Ellis Park on Saturday.
The Springbok Women, fresh from their successful Rugby Africa campaign, take on the Eagles at 13:30 SA Time (11:30 GMT) in the curtain-raiser to the Nations Championship clash between the Springboks and England.
Dolf has called on South African supporters to arrive early and get behind the women’s team as they prepare for one of their toughest assignments of the season.
The Bok Women will have their work cut out for them as they take on a USA Eagles Women, who have faced New Zealand (ranked second in the world), Canada (third) and Australia (ninth) during the Pacific Four Series a few months ago.
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“We thrive off the crowd. They give us extra energy, and we are going to need that support against a top-ranked team like the USA,” Dolf said.
“So please come early and support the Springbok Women. We worked hard for this, and it will be fantastic if we can beat the USA in front of our compatriots.”
Dolf scored a record-breaking 27 points for the Springbok Women at the RWC last year and said that, due to her exploits with the BlitzBoks Women’s team in recent months, she will most likely delay her return as the fifteens team’s primary kicker.
Dolf kicked 12 conversions and a penalty goal in England but admitted that, due to sevens duties during the HSBC SVNS World Championship tournaments in Hong Kong, Valladolid and Bordeaux, she did not spend enough time around the kicking tee.
“I am not too worried about that, though, as we have other very capable kickers in the team as well,” said Dolf.
“Players like Libbie [Janse van Rensburg] and Jakkie [Cilliers] are kicking very well.”
Janse van Rensburg has kicked 55 conversions, 12 penalty goals and a drop goal in her 30 Tests, while Cilliers has landed 38 conversions and six penalty goals in 24 Test matches.
Dolf laid down another marker last year in England, where she was one of the players who gained the most running metres. Playing at fullback and on the wing, Dolf’s counter-attacks saw her make the most ground, covering 293m during the tournament.
“One thing I am most happy about from recently playing sevens again was the habit and ability to create and find space,” said Dolf.
“I felt my footwork and acceleration benefited from that. Coming back to fifteens now, the space is obviously much less, but I am happy that I added some stepping and elusiveness to my game because of sevens.
“So, I am ready to use that to my advantage when I play in a Test match again.”
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