Saturday night will see a world record broken, and it will almost certainly pass unnoticed by most of the sporting world. It will happen during a New Zealand v Australia Test match in one of the fiercest rivalries in the sporting world.

If you’re thinking it will be in the final Bledisloe Cup and Tri-Nations battle at Eden Park,  you’d be dead wrong. The sport is netball, and New Zealand goal shooter Irene van Dyk will play her 150th international game against Australia, extending her record as the most-capped player in the game's history.

Outside of her chosen sport , Van Dyk is almost unheard of. Within netball circles, however, she is the equivalent of Tiger Woods. She has been causing problems for opposition defences since her international debut in 1994. Standing at somewhere over 190cm, Irene is an ominous presence on the court and is widely regarded as the best shooter in the world.

'In a sport that is incredibly technical, and surprisingly physical for a non-contact sport, Van Dyk has a tremendous sense of fair play and has earned the respect and admiration of everyone who plays the game'


Unusually, for someone of her height, she has tremendous balance and athleticism which, combined with her telescopic reach, strong hands and freakish shooting ability, forms a potentially match-winning advantage. It is reported that she shoots 300 goals every day in practice, which perhaps explains her accuracy during games and underscores her determination to succeed.

She began her international career for South Africa in 1994, and played 72 Tests and captained the side before moving to New Zealand in 2000. Controversially, Van Dyk began representing her adopted home almost immediately, long before even taking out citizenship. At the time, there were no rules preventing players changing countries and so Van Dyk made her New Zealand debut – ironically against the side she had captained.

Against Australian skipper Liz Ellis, Van Dyk has formed one of the greatest individual rivalries in their sport. The on-court battles between these two champions are worthy of recognition as one of the great rivalries in sport. They are the netball equivalent a Ali and Frazier – only nowhere near as ugly. That fate brought together such a brilliant shooter and consummate defender at the same time and has provided innumerable highlights for lovers of netball.

On top of all of these wonderful qualities, Van Dyk is renowned for her sportswomanship. In a sport that is incredibly technical, and surprisingly physical for a non-contact sport, she has a tremendous sense of fair play and has earned the respect and admiration of everyone who plays the game.

Irene deserves the congratulations of netball fans the world over, and I’m sure that everyone wishes her the best of luck in this milestone game. Just not too much, though, I still want Australia to win.