The one Dutch name familiar to rugby fans beyond the nations’s borders is Linde van der Velden. She captained Exeter Chiefs in their first season in the Premier 15s (later PWR) and scored their first try.
She outlines some of the challenges facing her squad.
The Oranjes train together four times a week. That means travelling to Amsterdam after a day’s work and, for the most part, paying for the privilege. So it’s the typical amateur approach. They find strength in sticking together and knowing their standards are improving all the time.
Beating Fiji recently was a huge boost, and they enter WXV for the first time. To achieve that, they played Colombia in a final qualifier and beat them convincingly – without the reassuring presence of their injured captain!
They have finished second in the European Championship for the last three seasons. Spain still bar their path to the trophy.
Like all nations in a similar position, they seek more financial support, but one link that might prove profitable is with South Africa. On the men’s side, the Cheetahs play their European Challenge cup home games in Amsterdam, and there are plenty of Afrikaners resident in NL.
The worldwide trend is for the best players in a small rugby-playing nation to move to a country where the game is more prominent. In Linde’s case we see the problem even more clearly: she remains the only Dutch player operating at elite level in England. Her example has not yet been followed by ambitious young Dutch players. Prop Anouk Veerkamp comes closest: playing for Hartpury College in the BUCS championship, she was awarded the BUCS’ Women’s National League Fans’ Player of the Season.
The boss is Sylke Haverkorn who had wide experience as a test player. Her CV includes overcoming widespread scorn when she became forwards coach of Leiden men’s team. When they won the championship, she was happy to receive apologies. She has been in charge of the women’s game for five years, setting up vital structures, including an U18s squad.
The next target is the World Cup, of course; the Netherlands haven’t been there since 2002. (Reminder: they took part in the first ever women’s international, against France in 1982). Linde sees a constant improvement in their standards as they work on all aspects of their game; they want to become less predictable in their playing style, strengthening their defensive patterns and widening their attacking options.
It so happens that Las Leonas are the second of their three opponents in WXV. First they meet Samoa, finally Hong Kong. There must be a good chance they could win at least one of those three. That is proving to be one of the hallmarks of success for a team entering any tier of WXV for the first time.
First stop: v Samoa, Saturday 28 September, The Sevens Stadium, Dubai. KO 20.30 (local time); 16.30 (CEST)
