The decision by 18-year-old Keira Snyman to leave her home in Denver, Colorado, in pursuit of wearing the green and gold rugby jersey – once proudly worn by her father André – all worked out fine on a sunny Friday afternoon in Stellenbosch.
There, in this town synonymous with rugby, the Junior Springbok Women took the field against their U20 counterparts from the USA, with Snyman on the left wing.
And proudly sitting in the stands of the Markötter Stadium at Paul Roos Gymnasium, was her dad Andre Snyman, who first wore the Springbok badge 30 years ago at the start of an international career that saw him play 38 tests and score 10 tries for South Africa.
There was no jet lag, despite the long-haul trip from the foothills of the Ricky Mountains, just an immense feeling of gratitude, joy and pride, said Snyman senior afterwards.
“It was a very proud moment to see my daughter running out in the green and gold,” said the 52-year-old Andre.
“It made the long trip from Colorado worth the while, it is just so great to be here and witness this moment with her.”
Standing alongside her dad, still dressed in her match kit, Keira echoed the sentiments: “It was such an honour to represent this team today and even more so that my dad as an ex-Springbok could share in this moment with me and our family.”
BITTEN BY THE RUGBY BUG
Keira was bitten by the rugby bug when her dad was coaching her younger brother and she was sitting on the side of the field, watching and supporting.
He scored a try and she said she wanted to do the same. Rugby found a gap that ballet classes, athletics and field hockey could not quite address.
At that stage, the exploits of her dad, which resulted in famous matches against the All Blacks, England, France and the British & Irish Lions to name a few, had not quite sunken in.
“I knew rugby was a big thing early on with all the jerseys hanging in our house, but I only really realised how big he was two years ago at the Rugby World Cup final in France, when everybody came up to him for photos and chats,” recalled Keira.
That trip – with Andre getting a surprise 50th birthday present from his wife and Keira travelling with as a 16-year-old rugby fan – made her realise that rugby in South Africa means something. So, when the opportunity came to try something similar two years later, it was easy to make the call.
A drive by SA Rugby to attract top players abroad with South African eligibility status was put into action by Dave Wessels, who heads up the High-Performance Department of the organisation.
“Our goal is to attract all the best South African sportswomen to rugby – that includes female athletes currently playing other sports, and those living overseas,” said Wessels.
“There are a lot of talented athletes whose parents emigrated. We want to give them the opportunity to come home and represent South Africa.”
PATHWAYS TO ATTRACT YOUNG GIRLS TO RUGBY
As such, Snyman was approached, as her talents were spotted by local scouts and well as England’s Rugby Football Union, where she was invited into their Under-18 programme.
And after the two U20 matches, Keira has also been roped in by the Springbok Women’s Sevens, which probably underlined the fact that she made the right decision, even though it was not about comfort, but rather instinct.
“It was a hard decision; I am not going to lie,” she said. “I grew up in America, and I have a life there, but with following your dreams, there will be sacrifices, so that made it easier.
“I have to compliment my team mates as well, being here and adapting was made so much easier by them, they welcomed me and that helped a lot.”
According to Andre, who is a rugby coach in Denver, this turn of events came as a surprise.
“There was never an expectation that she should come back to South Africa to wear the green and gold,” he said.
“I always told her that rugby should be fun too. The fact that she could get here and had fun on the way is great. But this was something she chased, and I am happy to be here in support.”
The USA U20s won both matches and Snyman said he was not surprised by the results, knowing the well-established pathways for their players: “These girls have been playing rugby from a young age, and they have school programmes and a lot of them of are going back into their college teams. That rugby programme is where they are ahead of us.”
Snyman praised the efforts of Wessels and others at SA Rugby to broaden the base of age-group girls and said their plan to attract overseas based players is a good one.
“We have the SA Schools teams now, which is a first and great news,” said Andre.
“I also understand there are numerous pathway routes being secured for the younger girls, those programmes starting up now will help SA Rugby to catch up in that regard.
“It is worth supporting. I don't know of many players in the USA who are eligible, but there were a number of them with Keira in the England U18 group that could follow this path. The pathway will be crucial for other to come and it is good to see the development of that option.”