Leana de Bruin (née du Plooy) (born 9 July 1977) is a South African and New Zealand international netball player. De Bruin played 34 tests for South Africa before moving to New Zealand in 2000. She made her on-court debut for the Silver Ferns in 2003, and has gone on to represent New Zealand at the Commonwealth Games and Netball World Championships, playing in the goal defence and goal keeper positions.[1] In 2009, she pulled out of the team due to pregnancy, before returning the following year.[2]
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Leana de Bruin (née du Plooy) | ||
| Born |
9 July 1977 Bethlehem, Free State, South Africa | ||
| Height | 1.90 m (6 ft 3 in) | ||
| Netball career | |||
| Playing position(s): GD, GK | |||
| Years | Club team(s) | Apps | |
| 2001 | Southern Sting | ||
| 2002 | Capital Shakers | ||
| 2003–2004 | Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic | ||
| 2005–2007 | Northern Force | ||
| 2008 | Northern Mystics | ||
| 2009 | Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic | ||
| 2010–2011 | Southern Steel | ||
| 2012–2016 | Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic | ||
| 2017 | Northern Stars | ||
| 2018 | Adelaide Thunderbirds | ||
| 2019 | Northern Stars | ||
| Years | National team(s) | Caps | |
| ? | South Africa | 34 | |
| 2002–16 | New Zealand | 104 | |
| Last updated: 20 May 2018 | |||
De Bruin played for the Southern Sting, Capital Shakers, Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic and the Northern Force in the National Bank Cup. With the start of the ANZ Championship in 2008, de Bruin stayed in Auckland with the new Northern Mystics franchise. The following year, she returned to the Magic in Hamilton, partnering in the defensive circle with Silver Ferns teammate Casey Williams.[3] De Bruin played most of the 2009 round-robin season before pulling out due to pregnancy. She returned to competitive netball the following year, signing with the Southern Steel for the 2010 season,[4][5] before returning to the Magic in 2012 for the remainder of the ANZ Championship.
She announced that she would retire from international netball in July 2016.[6] Domestically, she signed with the Northern Stars for the inaugural season of the new ANZ Premiership, delaying her retirement from all forms of the game. She signed with Australian club Adelaide Thunderbirds for the 2018 Suncorp Super Netball season.[7] She was named captain of the Thunderbirds prior to the start of the season.[8] de Brun was captain at a difficult time for the club, as the Thunderbirds went winless for the entire season. She then returned to the Northern Stars for the 2019 season, extending her career beyond 17 years.[9]
References edit
- ^ "Leana looks to get physical". The Sunday Star-Times. 4 November 2007. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
- ^ Johannsen, Dana (30 July 2010). "Recalled trio in Ferns squad for Games". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 11 September 2010.
- ^ "Big changes ahead of de Bruin in Waikato". Waikato Times. 6 November 2008. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
- ^ Johannsen, Dana (4 September 2009). "De Bruin heading for Southern Steel". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
- ^ Egan, Brendon (20 February 2010). "De Bruin getting back into gear". The Press. Retrieved 17 March 2010.
- ^ "Silver Fern Leana de Bruin retires from international netball". Stuff.co.nz. 17 August 2016. Retrieved 20 May 2018.
- ^ "New Zealand netball at tipping point as player drain threatens to derail ANZ premiership". Newshub. Retrieved 13 July 2017.
- ^ "Leana de Bruin to captain Thunderbirds in 2018". Suncorp Super Netball. 21 March 2018. Archived from the original on 23 March 2018. Retrieved 23 March 2018.
- ^ "Netball: Former Silver Fern Leana De Bruin returns to the Northern Stars". NZ Herald. 22 August 2018.