Online Reporter
Brandon Moyo, Zimpapers Sports Hub
THE Zimbabwe Rugby Union (ZRU) has conveyed its condolences to the South African rugby community following the passing of former Springbok Women’s captain Lusanda Dumke, who died in East London in the early hours of Tuesday morning after battling a rare form of gastric cancer.
She was 29.
Dumke, SA Rugby’s Women’s Rugby Player of the Year in 2022, played 33 Test matches and captained South Africa on three occasions. She also represented the Springbok Women’s Sevens team during her career.
In a statement, ZRU said Dumke was an inspiration to young women not only in South Africa, but also in Zimbabwe.
“The Zimbabwe Rugby Union sends its condolences, sympathies and comfort to the Dumke family, Blues Daisies, Springboks Women’s Rugby and the wider South African community on the passing on of Lusanda Dumke. She embodied passion, grit, determination, strength and tenacity that saw her inspire the young women even here in Zimbabwe and showed them that there is no substitute for hardwork and character.
“She lived to break barriers and bounds as shown by her leadership across all the teams she was part of and indeed she showed how special and unique an individual she was across her areas of influence. Sizok’khumbula mntakwethu. Hamba kahle wena Qhawe. Lala ngoxolo Mkhokheli. Sophinda s’bonane njalo. Rest in peace Lusanda,” read the statement.
Dumke made her provincial debut for the Border Ladies in 2015 as an 18-year-old. Her Test debut followed three years later, in 2018 against Wales in Cardiff.
She became a regular fixture in the Bok team and captained the side for the first time in 2021, against Kenya in a two-Test series in Stellenbosch. She also captained the side against Australia in 2024.
In 2022, Dumke was a member of the Springbok Women squad that participated in the Women’s Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, where she played in all three pool matches, against France, Fiji and England. Her last Test was against Italy in WXV 2 in Cape Town in 2024. She scored 10 tries in her Test career.
She also represented the Springbok Women’s Sevens team in Cape Town in 2019. In 2022, she also played in the Rugby Africa Women’s Sevens Cup in Tunisia, where South Africa defended their continental title, as well as the Cape Town event.
At provincial level, Dumke captained Border as well as the Isuzu Bulls Daisies to provincial titles.
