Rumandi Potgieter might join a small group of elite athletes this weekend who can claim they have helped Tuks win Varsity Tournaments in two different sports codes. 

In 2017 she was part of the TuksNetball team that won the Varsity Tournament for the first time. She also played for Tuks when they won the USSA Tournament. 

Two weeks ago Potgieter, however, decided to switch to catching a different size ball. It led to her making her debut for the Delta Drone TuksWomenRugby sevens team that over the weekend won the USSA Tournament at Wits. She even scored a try to the delight of her teammates. 

The Tuks women's team is hoping to be victorious again when competing at the Varsity Tournament over the weekend. It is being played at the Pirates Club in Johannesburg. 

Riaan van der Merwe (Tuks women's head coach) is excited at how quickly Potgieter took to playing sevens rugby. 

"She debuted at scrumhalf during the USSA Tournament. At first, Rumandi battled to understand the defensive lines, but she quickly caught on. Her ball-handling skills were terrific."

Potgieter admits making her sevens rugby debut was a bit like "fools rushing in where angels fear to tread".

"I did make mistakes, and I knew in doing so that I was frustrating my teammates, but to their credit, no one criticised me. They only praised me when I did something right. That helped me to gain confidence."

Potgieter is not too fazed about the prospects of getting bruised on the rugby field.

"It is said that netball is not a contact sport, but as having played goal attack, I can vouch for it that things tend to get rough on a netball court. 

"Getting to tackle an opponent was the one thing that presented itself as somewhat of a challenge to me. There are so many things going through one's mind when an opposition player is running at full speed towards you with the ball in hand.

"It was like is the player going to pass the ball? Should I commit to the tackle? If so, how should I execute the tackle? Then you realise that if you don't tackle there is a real chance that the player can score. Then you go for it.

"In netball, passing a ball is easy. In sevens rugby, it tends to be more challenging, especially when you got somewhat hanging onto your back and someone else grabbing an arm." 

According to Potgieter, she will always be passionate about netball, but when she commits to a new challenge like playing sevens rugby, she gives a 100%.

"I want to be the best I can be as a rugby player and see where it takes me."