“Everything I do today is for her." The heartwarming story of SA Women's star Nadine Roos & her grandmother

One of the brightest young prospects in the South African Women’s team has ascended to the top despite a not-so-bright past. The story of Nadine Roos is not one to be intertwined with the concept of a typically stable, happy childhood, but there seems to be no stopping the 26 year-old now as she gears up to compete in her second World Cup inside a month. 

During the recent 7s World Cup in Cape Town, Roos showed her quality as she ran in four tries in one game, prompting high praise for Head Coach Paul Delport. 

“She’s absolutely world-class,” he said. “We’ve got one or two players that could be playing for the top four teams in the world, and she’s definitely one of those players.” 

Now, as Roos prepares to strut her stuff in the 15s World Cup in New Zealand, she reflects on a tenuous childhood which saw her thrown into the uncertain world of the welfare system before a strong and loving grandmother intervened. 

“Basically, I grew up with my grandmother,” Roos said, speaking to the Daily Maverick. “My mother made decisions in my life where I ended up in an [orphanage].” 

“My grandmother just said ‘over my dead body’ will she give her own blood away. She took me into her home,” Roos said. 

“There was a time in my life that I did stay with my mother and my stepdad near Hermanus, in Kleinmond. That wasn’t a very joyful period in my life because I didn’t do a lot of sports when I stayed with them. That privilege was taken away from me. 

“There were times when I would phone my gran and tell her ‘I’m not happy here, I want to come home’. Then the opportunity came again to live with her and I lived with her throughout my high school years and then also varsity.” 

Understandably, Roos’ relationship with her parents remains strained. 

“At the moment it’s just me and my grandmother. She raised me well. She always supported me with my sports, whatever sports I played,” she said. 

Roos’ natural athleticism saw her receive a scholarship to study at the University of Pretoria, where she completed a financial accounting and teaching degree. When things were not going quite according to plan in the 400m and 400m hurdles, Roos was approached by the university’s women’s 7s coach, Riaan van der Merwe, who asked her to join the team for a session. 

“I even phoned my gran after that one session and told her I might stick to rugby, see how it goes. Her words back to me were: ‘Aren’t you going to get injured?’ I told her an injury can happen anywhere so I’m going to see where it goes.” 

“Then at the end of that year at the interprovincial Sevens, coach Renfred Dazel saw me and that’s how my career started with the Springbok Women’s Sevens team. 

“Basically, rugby found me and I didn’t find rugby because I never knew there was women’s rugby in South Africa,” she said. 

In light of Roos’ rocketing rise to the top and the many achievements along the way, her grandmother, Ouma Sarie, is partial to the odd bout of showing off. 

“I used to hate it when I was younger. Any achievement I had, a trophy or medal… She was a hairdresser back then and she would take the stuff to the hair salon and brag to all her clients, ‘This is what [Nadine] has won’ – in whatever sport it was,” Roos said. 

“She still does it now. When I come home from a tournament and I bring back a trophy, an MVP [most valuable player] or something, I take it home to show it to her and share it with her. Somehow people will hear about it – she will phone people, people will phone her and she will tell them. 

“She’s really proud and she shares my dreams and my passions with me. That was a thing when I was little. I hated it. 

“I don’t like attention, I’m a bit of a shy, introverted person. I don’t like it, but I know where it came from. Those are the days I will remember,” she said. 

As Nadine’s biggest supporter, it follows that Ouma Sarie never misses the chance to watch her granddaughter play. 

“Even now, if there’s a game on TV, she will plant her chair in front of the TV –because she can’t see far anymore – and just watch how I play. She will never miss a game. 

“My gran really raised me well, I believe. She’s a strong woman for what she did. I owe my life to her. 

“Everything I do today is for her: Ouma Sarie Roos.”