It started with a social touch rugby event in 2023, followed by an invite to try sevens with a club team in Hermanus, where among others, the Springbok Women’s Sevens also played in an invitational tournament, and that resulted in a brief call-up to train with them in Stellenbosch.
In a blink, Maceala Samboya was snapped up by the Sanlam Boland Dames and some impressive performances later, she was named in the Springbok Women’s team, making her test debut aged 23 in Hermanus, the same town where she was spotted by the national sevens coaches a few months earlier.
Fast forward a few years and Samboya has seen the world, travelling to Scotland, England, Wales, Spain, Madagascar, France, and finally back to England for last year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup.
It is almost ironic that Uruguay, her seventh international destination, will be her first international sevens tournament, the HSBC SVNS 2 tournament in Estadio Charrua in Montevideo.
“I am really looking forward to this opportunity to play sevens for my country as well, as that is where it all started for me, briefly as it might have been,” Samboya said as the team finally departed for South America on Tuesday, being delayed from Sunday.
“I remembered that first camp well – I was invited barely two months after I started playing rugby. It was just a three-day camp, but it triggered something in me.
“And then, as each opportunity came, I grew and learned and developed as a player. So this time, coming back to the sevens was still a challenge, but I found myself at ease this time.”
Samboya joined the sevens squad six weeks after the WRWC, but picked up a knee injury which required four weeks of rehabilitation at their Stellenbosch Academy of Sport base, preparing her well for this trip, where all is at stake for the South Africans.
The HSBC SVNS 2 series, consisting of three tournaments, will offer the top four teams on the log the opportunity to play in the HSBC SVNS World Championship events in Hong Kong, Valladolid and Bordeaux in the coming months.
The Springbok Women’s Sevens are in second place on the log following the series opener in Kenya a month ago and arrived in Montevideo with two uncapped players in Samboya and Shanidine Bezuidenhout.
“It was great to join this group of players as they are really focused at the job at hand and to get back onto the world series,” the 26-year-old Samboya said.
“It made it much easier to slot in this time around and I hope to make a contribution, even if it is carrying water.”
SA coach Cecil Afrika did not select Samboya for this trip to carry water though.
“She is a very good player with fantastic feet and a feel for space. I am excited to see her go in this team and challenge opposing defences,” he said.
Bok Women’s Sevens fixtures (SA times, all matches live on SuperSport):
Saturday 21 March
4:23pm: Spain
6:46pm: China
9:36pm: Brazil
Sunday 22 March
7:23pm: Kenya
10:39pm: Argentina