Dumke was a late arrival on the rugby scene, only starting to play the game at the age of 15 after moving from the Transkei to East London, over 100km away, shortly after the death of her mother three years earlier.
Her father had passed away just 10 days before Dumke was born.
Making the move from netball and athletics, she says, to rugby ended up being a life-changing decision.
“I’ve never looked back since,” the 26-year-old said.
“Rugby means a lot to me. It means that I can put food on the table, it’s everything to me. It’s a release of whatever stress that I’m going through, it’s where I find my happiness.”
In August, Dumke won a car as prize for being awarded the Eastern Cape province’s 2021 Sportswoman of the Year.
She stunned the organisers by requesting to exchange the car for a house to accommodate her 85-year-old grandmother and partly disabled aunt, 51, who had been looking after her following the death of her mother.
“I stay in an informal settlement in East London, so I thought it wouldn’t make sense for me to drive a car knowing very well the situation back home,” she explained.
“It was a matter of sacrificing my happiness. It’s not that I don’t want a car – I need it – but I believe it’s a great thing to do for my family and for myself as well because safety is everything.
“I don’t think where I stay currently is safe enough for me and my family.”
Dumke plays in the same position, blindside flanker, as Siya Kolisi, who captained the Springboks to the men’s World Cup title in 2019.
The pair have developed a good relationship which has helped Dumke immensely in improving her game, and she is grateful for the help and tips Kolisi has been giving her.
“I have always looked up to Siya – he’s a good guy on and away from the rugby field,” she said.
“I always watch him play and he’s always prepared to give me tips on how to play in the position. I always talk with him whatever I’m going through, in rugby or personal things, and he listens and tries to help wherever he can.”
The success of the South African women’s football team in winning their maiden Africa Cup of Nations title in July has provided a major inspiration for women’s sport in the country, and Dumke believes the rugby team can feed off it.
“The success of Banyana Banyana really shows that women’s sport in South Africa is growing,” she added.
“I’m sure people didn’t see that coming and it really gives hope to us as the Springbok women’s team. What drove Banyana was the belief in themselves and it’s something that drives us as the Springbok women to do well at the World Cup.”