Keira Snyman’s move from Colorado to wear the green and gold her father once proudly donned came full circle in Stellenbosch on Friday.

The 18-year-old left her home in Denver, Colorado, in the US, to chase the dream of wearing the same green and gold rugby jersey her father André once wore for South Africa.

On a sunny Friday afternoon in Stellenbosch, that decision paid off when Keira took the field on the left wing for the Junior Springbok Women against their U20 counterparts from the USA.

Watching from the stands at Markötter Stadium at Paul Roos Gymnasium was André Snyman (52), who first wore the Springbok badge 30 years ago at the start of an international career that spanned 38 Tests and 10 tries for South Africa.

There was no jetlag from the long-haul trip from the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, just an immense feeling of gratitude, joy and pride.

“It was a very proud moment to see my daughter running out in the green and gold,” André said. “It made the long trip from Colorado worth the while, it is just so great to be here and witness this moment with her.”

From ballet to rugby

Keira caught the rugby bug whilst watching her younger brother play when her dad was coaching. He scored a try and she said she wanted to do the same. Rugby filled a gap that ballet classes, athletics and field hockey could not quite address.

At that stage, the exploits of her dad, which included famous matches against the All Blacks, England, France and the British & Irish Lions, 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,” Keira recalled.

That trip, with André getting a surprise 50th birthday present from his wife and Keira travelling along as a 16-year-old rugby fan, made her realise that rugby in South Africa means something. When the opportunity came to try something similar two years later, it was easy to make the call.

SA Rugby’s talent drive

A drive by SA Rugby to attract top players abroad with South African eligibility was put into action by Dave Wessels, who heads up the organisation’s high-performance department.

“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,” Wessels said. “There are a lot of talented athletes whose parents emigrated. We want to give them the opportunity to come home and represent South Africa.”

Snyman was approached after her talents were spotted by local scouts as well as England’s Rugby Football Union, where she was invited into their under-18 programme.

After the two U20 matches, Keira has also been recruited by the Springbok Women’s Sevens, which probably underlined the fact that she made the right decision.

Hard choices and new beginnings

“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 teammates as well, being here and adapting was made so much easier by them, they welcomed me and that helped a lot.”

According to André, 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 André 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 are going back into their college teams. That rugby programme is where they are ahead of us.”

André 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,” André said. “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 others to come and it is good to see the development of that option.”

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