Maria Tshiremba lit up the Springbok Women's second Test against Fiji at Churchill Park in Lautoka on Saturday with a debut hat-trick, all three tries coming in the second half — and she admits the celebration started before she had even grounded the first one.
"I actually started celebrating before I even scored, I just could not help myself. The feeling of relief and joy was just so much," the 30-year-old winger said.
The numbers behind her performance were striking: five ball carries, three tries, 81 running metres and six defenders beaten, complemented by eight tackles in defence. She finished as the tour's leading try scorer, ahead of Lindelwa Gwala, Vainah Ubisi and Xoliswa Khuzwayo, who each scored two. Gwala and Ubisi crossed in both Tests, while Khuzwayo scored her double in the opener in Suva.
Tshiremba's route to a fifteens Test cap was an unusual one. She began her club career with the Golden Lions Women in 2022, was quickly identified by the Sevens programme, and made her first HSBC SVNS tournament appearance a year later. She accumulated 64 tries across 20 SVNS tournaments, was named in the Springbok Women squad for the 2024 WXV 2 in Cape Town without taking the field, and then committed to a full 2025/26 Sevens season before being selected for the Fiji tour.
Elsewhere in the second Test, Sizophila Solontsi was flawless in the defensive line, completing all 19 of her tackle attempts, with Nomsa Mokwai also perfect at 15 from 15 and Catha Jacobs completing 17 of 20.
Byrhandré Dolf topped the tour points chart with 17, courtesy of a try and six conversions. Libbie Janse van Rensburg, who added a conversion in Suva, pushed her all-time Springbok Women points record to 221 — comprising 14 tries, 56 conversions, 12 penalty goals and a drop goal.
The squad returns to South Africa on Monday evening and reconvenes in Stellenbosch on 26 August ahead of the 5 September Test against the Black Ferns in Soweto, part of the Castle Double Malt Rugby's Greatest Rivalry series.