Irene van Dyk (née Viljoen; born 21 June 1972) is a South African-born New Zealand

netball Netball is a ball sport played on a court by two teams of seven players. It is among a rare number of sports which have been created exclusively for female competitors. The sport is played on indoor and outdoor netball courts and is specifical ...

player. A goal-shooter, van Dyk is one of the world's best-known netballers and is the most capped international player of all time: in every game she consistently attained over 90%. She is recognised as the greatest goal-shooter of all time. Van Dyk has had a huge impact on Netball, and almost single-handedly changing the way it is played, both in

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and around the world, while contributing immensely to its growing popularity. Debuting in 1994, she represented South Africa 72 times and captained the team. In 2000, she moved to

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by me ...

and was quickly picked for the national team, the

Silver Ferns The New Zealand national netball team, commonly known as the Silver Ferns, represent New Zealand in international netball. The team take their nickname from the Silver Tree Fern (''Cyathea dealbata''), which is National symbols of New Zealand, ...

. This caused some minor controversy, as the only rule in netball at the time for players switching between nations was a ban on playing for more than one nation in a calendar year. She was the 2003

New Zealand Sportswoman of the Year The Halberg Awards are a set of awards, given annually since 1949, recognising New Zealand's top sporting achievements. They are named for New Zealand former middle-distance runner and Olympic gold medalist Murray Halberg, Sir Murray Halberg. The ...

and a nominee in 2005. She became a New Zealand citizen in 2005, and represented New Zealand for 14 years before retiring from international netball in June 2014. Van Dyk played for the

Central Pulse Central Pulse are a New Zealand netball team based in Wellington. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017 they have represented Netball Central in the ANZ Premiership. Netball Central is the governing body that r ...

in the

ANZ Championship The ANZ Championship, also known as the Trans-Tasman Netball League, is a former netball league featuring teams from both Australia and New Zealand. Between 2008 and 2016, it was the top-level league in both countries. The competition was owned ...

from 2014, taking a coaching role in more recent years. For most of her domestic career in New Zealand she played for the

Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic are a New Zealand netball team based in Hamilton. Between 1999 and 2007, they played in the Coca-Cola Cup/National Bank Cup league. Between 2008 and 2016, they played in the ANZ Championship. Since 2017, Magic have ...

(2003–2013).

Personal life

Irene van Dyk was born Irene Viljoen in

Vereeniging Vereeniging () is a town located in the south of Gauteng province, South Africa, situated where the Klip River empties into the northern loop of the Vaal River. It is also one of the constituent parts of the Vaal Triangle region and was formerly si ...

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

, South Africa. Her mother, also called Irene, died in July 2012 following a long battle with cancer. Her father Herman Viljoen died during a routine appendix operation in 1992. In 1994 she married Christie van Dyk and the two have one child, a daughter named Bianca. Bianca followed her mother into netball. Irene van Dyk is a teacher, having worked in both primary and intermediate schools. A

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

, van Dyk supported the "Lifeathon" fund-raising event for

Christian music Christian music is music that has been written to express either personal or a communal belief regarding Christian life and faith. Common themes of Christian music include praise, worship, penitence, and lament, and its forms vary widely around ...

radio network There are two types of radio network currently in use around the world: the one-to-many (simplex communication) broadcast network commonly used for public information and mass-media entertainment, and the two-way radio ( duplex communication) type ...

Life FM. A 2002 biography about her by Russell Gray is called ''Changing Colours''.

Netball technique

She shoots 300 goals a day for fun. Her husband Christie analyses her play. She is renowned for her consistent shooting volume and accuracy, with shooting percentages that are rarely seen in netball. Her 191 cm height, natural athleticism and strong hands help her dominate opponents.

South African career

She made her debut for the South African national side in 1994 and went on to captain the side and represent them 72 times. She was part of the silver medal-winning South African team who beat New Zealand 59–57 in the first round of the

1995 Netball World Championships The 1995 World Netball Championships was the ninth edition of the INF Netball World Cup, a quadrennial premier event in international netball. It was held in Birmingham, England and featured a record 27 teams. South Africa returned to competiti ...

and lost 68–48 to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

in the final.

NZ career

Van Dyk emigrated to

in 2000. Since moving to NZ Van Dyk's game grew, with improvements in her ball handling/security, movement, spatial awareness and strength.

2002 Commonwealth Games

Van Dyk won a silver medal as part of the New Zealand team that lost the final 57–55 against

at the

2002 Commonwealth Games The 2002 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XVII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Manchester 2002 were held in Manchester, England, from 25 July to 4 August, 2002. The 2002 Games were to be hosted in the United Kingdom to coin ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

, England after double overtime.

2003 Netball World Championships

The Silver Ferns won the Netball World Championships in Kingston, Jamaica beating Australia 49–47 in the final. Van Dyk netted 41 goals from 43 attempts at 95%. The Silver Ferns had not won a major event since the 1987

World Netball Championships The Netball World Cup is a quadrennial international netball world championship organised by the World Netball, inaugurated in 1963. Since its inception the competition has been dominated primarily by the Australia national netball team and t ...

in Glasgow, Scotland.

2004

On 5 July 2004 she came on at the start of the 3rd quarter of the third test match in a series against Australia and scored 24 from 24 shots to turn the match around. In November 2004 she went to Australia where the Silver Ferns were defeated 2-1 by Australia. Features of the series were the loss of Australian Captain and goal keeper

Liz Ellis Elizabeth Margaret Ellis, (born 17 January 1973) is a retired Australian netball player, a member of the national team from 1992 until 2007 and captain for the last four of those years. She is the most capped international player for Australian ...

from part of the 1st Test and all of the 2nd Test after being injured during a clash with van Dyk, and the noticeable increase of calls going against van Dyk penalising her for stepping and contacting other players.

2005

In the winter of 2005 a one-off Test was played in Sydney where the Silver Ferns beat Australia 50–43. Van Dyk was a dominant factor in the win and cemented her position as the world's greatest goal shooter especially against Australia's own formidable shooting weapon Catherine Cox whose own form fell away after being worn down by New Zealand's goal keeper

Vilimaina Davu Vilimaina Davu (born 15 January 1977 in Nadi, Fiji) is a Fijian and New Zealand netball player, who has represented both countries in international netball as a goal keeper. Netball career On the netball court she was a veteran of more than 10 ...

. From 2003 to 2013 van Dyk played national league netball for the Waikato Magic and in 2005 spearheaded their first

National Bank Cup The National Bank Cup was the pre-eminent national netball competition in New Zealand between 1998 and 2007. From 2008, it was replaced by the ANZ Championship. Format In the rounds, each team played every other team once, then the top four teams ...

title. The win finished the

Southern Sting The Southern Sting were a netball team based in Invercargill, New Zealand that competed in the National Bank Cup competition, formerly known as the Coca-Cola Cup. The Southern Sting team won the National Bank Cup seven times and are the only tea ...

's six-year winning streak. In October 2005 van Dyk helped defeat Australia 61–36. In a match notable for the loss of Australian Captain Liz Ellis for three-quarters of the match, New Zealand were too good for Australia with their speed, ball handling, uncompromising defence and shooting accuracy. Partnered with goal attack

Jodi Te Huna Jodi Anne Brown (née Te Huna; born 6 May 1981 in Whanganui, New Zealand) is a retired New Zealand netball player. Brown was a member of the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns from 2002 to 2015, taking time off in between those ...

, van Dyk's composure and athleticism came to the fore and Australia appeared to have no response to this and the overall effort of New Zealand. New Zealand had an undefeated year in 2005 including a successful end of year tour to the Caribbean where they beat

Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the Caribbean region of the Americas, and the most easterly of the Caribbean Islands. It occupies an area of and has a population of about 287,000 (2019 estimate). ...

and

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

2006 Commonwealth Games

New Zealand faced Australia, the defending champions, in the final of

2006 Commonwealth Games The 2006 Commonwealth Games, officially the XVIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Melbourne 2006 (Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm 2006'' or ''Naarm 2006''), was an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth held ...

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

. Van Dyk performed with skill and determination in an enthralling battle against Australian goal keeper and home town girl

Bianca Chatfield Bianca Chatfield (born 2 April 1982) is a former Australia netball international. Between 2001 and 2014 she made 59 senior appearances for Australia. Chatfield was a member of the Australia teams that won the gold medals at the 2007 World Netb ...

who gave a sterling performance against her. (Liz Ellis wasn't available due to injury.) New Zealand won the final 60–55. Van Dyk shot a tournament high 300 goals from 324 shots for 93 percent during the games.

2009

On September the 23rd 2009, van Dyk played her 100th test for New Zealand, a 52–36 win over Australia. New Zealand lost the series 3–2.

2010 Commonwealth Games

In 2010, van Dyk was chosen to lead the New Zealand team in the

Opening Ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

of the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, f ...

in Delhi. The 2010 Games also saw her become the most capped player in

history, surpassing

Lesley Rumball Lesley Marie Rumball (née Nicol, born 9 May 1973) is a former New Zealand netball player. Rumball played with the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns, from 1993 to 2005. She represented New Zealand in 109 tests to become the se ...

's 110 caps. Van Dyk shot 32 from 32 in the semi-final and 25 from 29 (86%) in the final when New Zealand beat Australia 66–64.

2012

In June van Dyk celebrated her 40th birthday and said she had no plans to retire. In the ANZ Championship she shot a tournament high 501 goals from 527 shots at 95.1%. In the 2012 ANZ Championship season, she also led her team to the Grand Final, where the Magic beat the Vixens 41–38, to become the first ever New Zealand Franchise to win the ANZ Championship. Van Dyk netted 25/26 in that game.

2014 - International retirement

Van Dyk transferred to the

following the resignation of coach

Noeline Taurua Dame Noeline Taurua (born 26 March 1968) is a New Zealand international netball coach and former representative player. She is currently head coach of the New Zealand national netball team, the Silver Ferns. Early life Taurua was born in Pap ...

from her previous team,

. She averaged 27 goals per game, lower than previous seasons. On 5 June 2014,Irene Van Dyk announced her retirement from international netball, saying "I have really high expectations of myself and my match statistics over the past few months in the ANZ Championship are simply not good enough to justify taking my game to the international level". Her 20-year international career helped make her the most capped player of all time, with 217 caps (72 for South Africa and 145 for New Zealand). Her international career finished with 5917 goals from 6572 shots, a 90% shooting record. For the Silver Ferns she shot 4796 goals from 5288 attempts at 91%."Goodnight, Irene, our brilliant star"
NZ Herald. 6 June 2014

References

External links