She made her debut for her country at the Rugby Africa Women’s Sevens Cup tournament in Ghana last year and scored a try on debut, but that was just the beginning of the season’s highlights for Springbok Women’s Sevens forward, Leigh Fortuin.
The 21-year-old year old utility player, who captained the Junior Springbok Women from the inside centre position earlier in the 2024 season, enjoyed scoring that try in Accra and will always remember it, but the next chapter for her career – and that of the Springbok Women’s Sevens team – will now play out in East Africa and Kenya’s capital, Nairobi, where the 2025 edition of the tournament will be hosted on 15 and 16 November.
“I will remember that not only because I could finish off a good team effort, but because it was my dream to represent South Africa and become a Springbok player, so that was a bonus, and I was really happy with how it played out,” Fortuin said after yet another tough session on Monday.
The team will fly out to Kenya on Wednesday, but for Fortuin and the rest of the squad, the focus remained on the work to be done at the University of Pretoria’s High-Performance Centre, where they are hard at work for their Pool A encounters on Saturday with Mauritius and Zimbabwe.
“We have worked hard, but that is what will be needed to be successful in Kenya,” said Fortuin.
“We want to do well as a team, for ourselves, but also need to defend our unbeaten record in this tournament as well as make sure we finish at the top in order to qualify for the next phase, playing in the Challenger Series in Dubai in January.”
Fortuin was a familiar sight at the DHL Stadium while still at Rocklands High School a few seasons ago, being one of the stadium’s ball retrievers during DHL Stormers games, where she was already touted as a future international after representing Western Province at U16 and U18 levels.
In the last two seasons, Fortuin has developed her own identity as a national player too, as she was also selected for the Springbok Women's squad that travelled to Madagascar, where they retained the Rugby Africa Women’s Cup, making her a dual international before turning 21.
“I am still learning so much in this game, so whether it is fifteens or sevens, I just love being involved and playing,” she said.
“The performances of the Springbok Women at the Women’s Rugby World Cup a couple of months back certainly showed what is possible, so now it is the turn of the sevens group to showcase their talents and deliver rewards for the hard work that went into preparing for the Kenya tournament.
“With regards to myself, I remain keen to work hard and become the best player I can be, but more importantly, I also want to be a player that can be trusted by coaches and teammates to do what is best for the team.”