Samantha Els

Samantha Leigh Els (born 26 May 1999) is a South African rugby union player. In 2023, she made her debut for the South Africa women's national rugby union team. She is the daughter of South African golfer Ernie Els.

Early life
From Herolds Bay in the southern Cape, Els graduated in Human Biology from Stanford University. In 2013, she acted as her father Ernie Els' caddy at the Masters Tournament Par 3 Contest at Augusta National Golf Club. She also accompanied him as he captained the International Team in the 2019 Presidents Cup at Royal Melbourne Golf Club 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 in 2022. In August 2023, she was invited to a training camp for the South Africa women's national rugby union team 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 and wife Liezl. Her brother, Ben was diagnosed with autism as a child. Subsequently the family set up the Els for Autism Foundation. For her autism advocacy, she was awarded the Autism Science Foundation’s (ASF) Caryn Schwartzman Spirit Award in 2022.