During her international career, the 41-year-old Scheepers played in 14 matches for South Africa, of which 12 were Tests, and she scored two tries. She featured in the Rugby World Cup in England in 2010 after making her debut against Scotland earlier that season.<\/p>\n
Scheepers, who was still in action in the Women\u2019s Premier Division earlier this year, played her last Test match against Canada in 2013. Provincially, she represented the Bulls Daisies, EP Queens and most recently, the Free State Women.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is with deep sorrow that we mourn the passing of Daphne Scheepers, a cherished member of the South African rugby family and a trailblazer in the women\u2019s game,\u201d said Mr Alexander.<\/p>\n
\u201cLosing someone in the prime of their life is a tragedy that words can scarcely ease. Daphne\u2019s passing leaves a void in our hearts, but her legacy will endure \u2013 in the growth of the women\u2019s game she championed, in the lives she touched and in the memories we hold dear.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn behalf of SA Rugby, I extend our heartfelt condolences to Daphne\u2019s family, friends and former teammates. May you find comfort in knowing that she was deeply loved and widely admired. Her name will forever be part of our story.<\/p>\n
\u201cRest in peace, Daphne. Your spirit lives on in every young woman who dreams of wearing green and gold.\u201d<\/p>\n
Johannes-Haupt, who played with Scheepers in 2010 and 2013, said \u201cDidiza\u201d, as Scheepers was known amongst her peers, was a player who always gave her all.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe poured her heart into the game, leaving everything on the field and doing whatever was needed to make the team better,\u201d said Johannes-Haupt.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether it meant playing for different unions to advance the game to stepping up in a tough moment, or lifting others around her, she showed up fully and selflessly.<\/p>\n
\u201cHer smile was contagious, her presence magnetic. People were naturally drawn to her, not just for her talent, but for her energy, her spirit, and the unwavering positivity she brought with her wherever she went. She was a special woman with a heart of gold.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"During her international career, the 41-year-old Scheepers played in 14 matches for South Africa, of which 12 were…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":94785,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[64,63,760,85],"class_list":["post-94784","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-rugby","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94784","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=94784"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/94784\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/94785"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=94784"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=94784"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=94784"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}