Samantha Leigh Els (born 26 May 1999) is a South African

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player. In 2023, she made her debut for the

South Africa women's national rugby union team The South Africa women's national rugby union team represents South Africa in women's international rugby union and is governed by the South African Rugby Union. They have appeared in four Women's Rugby World Cup, World Cups since their debut ...

. She is the daughter of South African golfer

Ernie Els Theodore Ernest Els (; born 17 October 1969) is a South African professional golfer. A former , he is nicknamed "the Big Easy" due to his physical stature along with his fluid golf swing. Among his more than 70 career victories are four major ...

Early life

From Herolds Bay in the southern Cape, Els graduated in Human Biology from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

. In 2013, she acted as her father

' caddy at the Masters Tournament Par 3 Contest at

Augusta National Golf Club Augusta National Golf Club, sometimes referred to as Augusta National, Augusta, or the National, is a golf club in Augusta, Georgia, United States. It is known for hosting the annual Masters Tournament. Founded by Bobby Jones and Clifford Rob ...

. She also accompanied him as he captained the International Team in the

2019 Presidents Cup The 2019 Presidents Cup was the 13th edition of the Presidents Cup golf competition, held at Royal Melbourne Golf Club in Melbourne, Victoria, from 12 to 15 December 2019. Royal Melbourne previously hosted the tournament in 1998, at which t ...

Royal Melbourne Golf Club Royal Melbourne Golf Club is a 36-hole Golf Club (establishment), golf club in Australia, located in Black Rock, Victoria, Black Rock, Victoria (Australia), Victoria, a suburb in southeastern Melbourne. Its West and East courses are respectivel ...

in Australia.

Career

Although her father was not keen on her playing rugby initially, Els plays as a lock forward. She plays club rugby for New York Rugby Club. In 2022, she played international rugby for the

USA The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

in 2022. In August 2023, she was invited to a training camp for the

for the first time. The following month, 19 September 2023, she made her debut for South Africa.

Personal life

Els is one of two children to parents

Ernie Ernie is a masculine given name, frequently a short form (hypocorism) of Ernest, Ernald, Ernesto, or Verner. It may refer to: People * Ernie Accorsi (born 1941), American football executive * Ernie Adams (disambiguation) * Ernie Afaganis ...

and wife Liezl. Her brother, Ben was diagnosed with

autism Autism, also known as autism spectrum disorder (ASD), is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by differences or difficulties in social communication and interaction, a preference for predictability and routine, sensory processing d ...

as a child. Subsequently, the family set up the ''Els for Autism Foundation''. For her autism advocacy, she was awarded the

Autism Science Foundation The Autism Science Foundation (ASF) is a non-profit organization whose stated goals are to fund evidence-based autism research and support families with autistic members. The organization was founded in April 2009 by Alison Tepper Singer, a for ...

's (ASF) Caryn Schwartzman Spirit Award in 2022.

References

External links

Samantha Els
at Springbok Women * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Els, Samantha 1999 births Living people South African female rugby union players South Africa women's international rugby union players Rugby union locks Stanford University alumni Rugby New York players South African health activists Autism activists South African expatriate sportspeople in England White South African people 21st-century South African sportswomen