Netball: Old mates, new homeland

North Harbour defender Leana de Bruin is hoping to impress the Silver Ferns selectors but some top-notch players are blocking her return. Picture / Richard Robinson

Don't be surprised to hear a few unfamiliar words ring around the North Shore Events centre on Sunday afternoon.

It will just be Force defender Leana de Bruin (formerly du Plooy) ribbing her compatriot and old team-mate Irene van Dyk in Afrikaans.

The Magic and the Force go head to head in what is expected to be the match of the second round of the National Bank Cup.

Both sides won their opening encounters although the Force's controversial win over the Otago Rebels in extra time was nowhere nearly as decisive as the Magic's nine-goal win over the Auckland Waitakere Diamonds - a result that may have prompted some tipsters to rethink their prospective winner.

For de Bruin, Sunday also means a game against her old side.

She jumped ship to try to score more court time and was also keen to be coached by former Silver Fern coach Yvonne Willering.

"She came to South Africa when I was still playing for them and I have always just wondered what she'd be like as a coach, and defensively she has been amazing."

Despite her allegiance to the north, de Bruin still lives in Cambridge where she and her husband, Quinton, are renovating an old house.

Their long-term goal is to buy a lifestyle block.

"I would like to have some calves," said de Bruin, who grew up on a farm in South Africa's Free State.

"We have two dogs now, I miss the farm and the cows around me. Mum and Dad live just out of Hamilton on a dairy farm. They moved here about a year ago so I spend a lot of time there."

De Bruin came to New Zealand in 2001 after she was recruited by the Southern Sting.

Before that she had considered giving the game up.

"It was after I'd been to the [1999] world champs there was nothing for me in South Africa so I came to New Zealand for a season just to see if I could change something."

She returned the following year and played for the Capital Shakers before joining the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic in 2003.

It was in Wellington she met Quinton, a South African friend of van Dyk and her husband Christie.

"They introduced us and it went downhill from there," she laughs.

A member of the New Zealand A team, de Bruin has her sights set on winning back a place in the New Zealand side, a team she last turned out for in 2003.

But competition for defensive positions is tough. To earn a place de Bruin would have to knock out either Vilimaina Davu, Sheryl Scanlan, Anna Scarlett, Joline Henry or Casey Williams.

Lining up against van Dyk, who also stands at 1.90m, on Sunday is another chance to impress.

"On game day she is not going to be my friend and I can't be hers but off court we'll be mates again."

Leana de Bruin

Born: Free State, South Africa.
Lives: Cambridge.
Positions: GD, GK
Height: 1.90m
Caps: 6 for New Zealand, 34 for South Africa.

Career highlights:

2001-2003: Silver Ferns
1999-2000: South Africa