UJ captain and goal shooter Deancke Rohde has a tough job at hand this year as she has to lead a very inexperienced side.
Seven of the squad members did not play last year and Rohde, a former member of the South African under-21 side in 2013 is the only squad member who played Brutal Fruit netball earlier this year.
We caught up with her:
Nickname(s)? Deanx (pronounced Deanks).
Interests/hobbies other than netball? The human body.
Bad habit? Chewing my nails.
Other members of the family who are also good at sport? My father, Gerhard, was very competitive and does still play squash and golf socially. My mother, Des, played “korfbal”. My parents actually played “korfball” against one another. My mother was a shooter and father the defender.
Which provincial rugby team do you support? Lions.
Your biggest achievement in your netball career? To be able to wear the Green and Gold at the Junior World Cup in 2013 was the biggest honour!
Your most memorable match thus far? Beating Tuks in my second year (2012) by ten goals on their home ground.
What match don’t you ever want to relive again? Last year’s encounter against Tuks in the Varsity Series. We lost sooooooo bad (26-98)!
When did you first see yourself playing on the television? When we were still busy preparing for the under-21 World Cup, playing friendly games. Was weird in the beginning, but I appreciate it more and more every time.
What is the funniest thing that has happened to you or a teammate before, during or after a match? I played goalkeeper in one game in 2013 and when I intercepted a ball I I passed it to my best friend (Debbie Nieuwoudt playing goal defence for UJ). Only one problem, her contact lens fell out and she could hardly catch the ball. And we couldn’t call time, because it was in a power play and you cannot call time during a power play!
What subject did you hate the most at school? Accounting.
What teammate at UJ:
Talks the most on or off the court? Halala Nxumalo.
Wears the most brand wear? Kim-roché Holmes.
Is the funniest? Tanya Liechterkost.
Can’t sit down for longer than five minutes? Kendra Szeles.
Is a potential future coach? Jodie Brown.
Is the fittest? Kylie Jardine.
Is the most famous amongst men? Halala Nxumalo and Angelique Molefe.
Choose one:
Sleep late or wake up early? Sleep late on weekends and wake up early in the week and when I’m in the nature.
Facebook or Twitter? Facebook.
Reading or watching TV? Watching TV.
Storing or discard? Storing.
Intellect or humour? Intellect.
Biltong or chocolate? Biltong with chocolate.
Tea or coffee? Coffeeeeeeee, a lot of it.
Bush or sea? Sea is first choice, but I love nature, so I am warming up to the bush.
Drama or comedy? Comedy.
By Ruan Bruwer, Volksblad
