Irene van Dyk, (born June 21 1971), is one of the world's best-known netball players in New Zealand.

Born in South Africa, she became the International South African netball team's captain, then in 2000 moved to New Zealand and joined the "Silver Ferns" international team almost immediately (causing some minor controversy, as netball at the time had no specific rules on players moving between nations).

She now lives in Stokes Valley, Wellington, and as well as her international duties she plays for a team (initially the Capital Shakers but recently a team further north) in the domestic netball competition, is a teacher, and has two children.

There is a biography written about her, called Changing Colours. She shoots 300 goals a day just for fun. Her husband Christe van Dyk analyses her play and can tell if the ball would go in or not.

On July 5 2004 she came on at the start of the 3rd quarter of the third test match in a series against Australia and scored 24/24 to turn the match around. A return 3 match Test Series was played in Australia in November 2004 where the Silver Ferns were defeated 2-1 by a determined Australian team. Features of that series were the apparently poor quality of the umpiring, the loss of Australian Captain and Goal Keeper Liz Ellis from part of the 1st Test and all of the 2nd Test after being injured during a clash with van Dyk, and the noticeable increase of calls going against van Dyk penalising her for stepping and contacting other players.

In the Winter of 2005 a one off Test was played in Sydney where the Silver Ferns would gain revenge over their old rivals from Australia. Irene van Dyk would once again be a dominant factor in the win and would cement her position as the world's greatest goal shooter especially against Australia's own formidable shooting weapon — Cathrine Cox whose own form fell away after being worn down by reportedly ferocious and unsportsmanlike defence particularly from NZ's giant Goal Keeper Vilimaina Davu. Once again the standard of the umpiring was questioned this time mainly by the Australian team and coach. Final score -- 50-43. Both teams then went on to prepare for their next clash scheduled for October in Auckland New Zealand.

In recent years Irene has played club netball for the Waikato Magic and in 2005 spearheaded them to their first National Bank Cup title. Incidentally their win broke the six year stranglehold the Southern Sting had held over the competition.

As a player Irene van Dyk is renowned for her peerless and consistent shooting volume and accuracy boasting shooting percentages that have rarely been seen in netball before. Her commanding height (said to be 190 cm but suspected to be more) combines well with her natural athleticism and strong hands enabling her to dominate her opponents.

Perhaps the most striking weapon in her arsenal is the extremely wide split of her legs on receiving the ball. She uses this in order to manoeuvre herself closer to the goalpost thus increasing her chances of making the shot or rebounding upon a missed shot.

In October of 2005 Irene would once again rise to the occasion and help in presenting Australia with a debilitating loss. In a match notable for the loss of Australian Captain Liz Ellis for three quarters of the match, New Zealand were simply to good for Australia with their speed, ball handling, uncompromising defence and shooting accuracy.

Partnered with impressive Goal Attack - Jodi Te Huna, Irene's composure, class and athleticism came to the fore and Australia appeared to have no response to this and the overall effort of New Zealand which was at once scintillating and merciless. Final score -- 61-36. New Zealand would go on to record an undefeated year for 2005 including a successful end of year tour to the Carribean where they would trounce Barbados and Jamaica and blood several newer players.

As a result of a terrible knee injury Liz Ellis valuable leadership skills and sublime defensive abilities would be lost to the Australians going into the up and coming Carribean Series (Australia would win all matches convincingly) And then the Major Tournament of 2006, The Commonwealth Games in Melbourne where Australia would eventually attempt to defend their Title against NZ in the Final.

In that Final Irene would once again perform with skill and determination in what would be an enthralling battle against Australian Goal Keep and hometown girl Bianca Chatfield who gave a sterling if ultimately unsuccessful performance against the World's most recognisable Netball player. Australia would prove that the 25 goal loss sufferred back in October 2005 was merely an abberration as they went on to lose gallantly by just five goals.

So New Zealand would claim a fantastic first Gold Medal thanks to the unmatchable services of a superlative team effort. A team which included such illustrious stars as Vilimaina Davu, Temepara George, Adine Wilson, Belinda Colling (Replaced Jodi Te Huna who had been injured prior to the CWG) and of course the indomitable van Dyk whose 90% plus shooting percentage steered New Zealand home to a famous victory. Final score -- 60-55.

Since moving to NZ Irene's game has grown dramatically with notable improvements in her ball handling/security, movement and space awareness. She is also much stronger physically than she used to be and this has only added to the nightmare image she often presents to opposing players and fans alike.

Irene van Dyk is a Christian and supported the Lifeathon fundraising event for Christian radio network Life FM.

Irene van Dyk's place in history is now firmly etched as a promising netballer who left her country of birth in search of a better life.

1971 births | Living people | New Zealand netball players | South African people | South African-New Zealanders