The road less travelled: From the dusty streets of Uitenhage to the world stage
REACTION: Byrhandrè Leigh-She Dolf is a softly-spoken, mousy young lady – not someone you would associate with a savage and merciless sport like Rugby Union.
Yet, she has already made her mark on the world stage.
And this week, she was named South Africa’s best player.
Dolf beat off the challenges of ‘beasts’ like Babalwa Latsha, Aseza Hele, Nadine Roos and Libbie Janse van Rensburg to be crowned MyPlayers’ women’s Player of the Year.
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It all started in the dusty streets of Uitenhage, where Dolf played touch rugby with the boys.
Uitenhage, officially renamed Kariega, is situated on the banks of the Swartkops River.
It was a neighbour who spotted her and alerted the Eastern Province Under-16 coaches to the potential in the young girl.
She was selected for the EP U16 girls Craven Week team, and the journey started.
The diminutive 22-year-old, standing just 169 centimetres tall and weighing in at a bantam measure of just 62 kilograms, said she is happy for the many playing opportunities in a year satiated with international and domestic games.
Speaking about her rapid rise through the ranks, Dolf admitted that she was given license to thrill by the national women’s team coach, Swys de Bruin.
“The fact that coach Swys [de Bruin] comes up with a game plan [only] two days before a game and his jovial nature excites us as players,” she said after receiving her award.
“That [jocose] vibe in the team helps to lift the players’ energy levels.”
Turning her attention to the World Cup, where South Africa reached a women’s World Cup quarterfinal for the first time and pushed New Zealand to the limit for the better part of the last-eight play-off match, she admitted that she feared not making the team.
“I told myself: ‘Get your act together’.
“I got on the bus to [the World Cup in] England and the experience was unbelievable.”
She also spoke about the growth of the women’s game in recent years and the sacrifices some of her teammates made.
“They told me how they struggled and battled to play the game, but the arrival of coach Swys [de Bruin] turned things around, and now there are sponsors that assist us to do what we love.”
Despite herself barely being out of her teens, Dolf said she wants to inspire younger girls to take up the game, especially those who are small in stature.
“I am grateful for being in a position where I can encourage those girls who are in a situation of desperation, as I was.”
Having had a taste of being at a World Cup, the young flyer is ready to work harder for another bite at the proverbial cherry.
“I know there is an enormous amount of work ahead,” she said, adding: “However, with the [SARU] programme in place, I believe we have the potential to improve on this year’s showing.”
Dolf topped the points charts for the South African women at the conclusion of their 2025 World Cup campaign and spearheaded several records achieved by the team in their best-ever performance at the global tournament.
The Bok Women have moved to an all-time high of 10th position on the World Rugby rankings, and beat Italy for the first time in their history, qualifying for their first RWC quarterfinal.
Dolf kicked 27 points and covered the most metres in four matches played in a tournament that also resulted in the biggest win ever for the Springbok Women, a 66-6 defeat of Brazil 66-6 in their opening Pool D match.
Her 12 conversions and a penalty goal pushed Dolf past Zandile Nojoko’s record of 26 points scored at Rugby World Cups, but where Dolf achieved that in four matches at one tournament, it took Nojoko 15 matches at three tournaments.
@rugby365com
