Irene van Dyk, MNZM

New Zealand Order of Merit

The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order established in 1996 "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rendered meritorious service to the Crown and nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions or other merits."The order includes five...

 (born 21 June 1972 in Vereeniging, Gauteng

Gauteng

Gauteng is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. It was formed from part of the old Transvaal Province after South Africa's first all-race elections on 27 April 1994...

, South Africa

South Africa

The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...

) is one of the world's best-known netball

Netball

Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...

 players and the most capped player of all time.

She formerly captained the South African national netball team, representing them a total of 72 times, but moved to New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

 in 2000 where she plays for the national team, the Silver Ferns. She became a citizen of New Zealand in 2005. She won the Halberg award as the New Zealand Sportswoman of the Year in 2003 and was again nominated in 2005.

Her move to New Zealand and almost immediate placement in their national team caused some minor controversy, as the only rule in netball at the time for players switching between nations was a ban on playing for more than one nation in a calendar year.

She lives in Wellington

Wellington

Wellington is the capital city and third most populous urban area of New Zealand, although it is likely to have surpassed Christchurch due to the exodus following the Canterbury Earthquake. It is at the southwestern tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Rimutaka Range...

, but played for the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic

Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic

The Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic are a New Zealand netball team based in Hamilton that currently compete in the trans-Tasman ANZ Championship. The franchise was formed in 1999 during the Coca-Cola Cup as an amalgamation of two teams from the inaugural season, the Waikato Wildcats and the Bay of...

 in the National Bank Cup

National Bank Cup

The National Bank Cup was the pre-eminent national netball competition in New Zealand between 1998 and 2007. From 2008, it was replaced by the ANZ Championship.-Format:...

, New Zealand's former domestic netball competition which ended in 2007.