Emphatic win over Black Ferns XV confirms Bok Women on track for World Cup – Swys
Rugby
Springbok Women's flyhalf Libbie Janse van Rensburg tries to hand off Black Ferns XV centre Kelsey Teneti at Athlone Stadium.
Image: Henk Kruger/Independent Newspapers
Springbok Women’s performance coach Swys de Bruin feels Saturday’s emphatic 41-24 victory over the Black Ferns XV was proof that they have got their combinations and spine right, with the Rugby World Cup in England 18 days away as of Monday.
The South African women’s rugby team overturned the 34-26 defeat from last weekend, outscoring the victors by seven tries to four in a power-packed performance at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town.
“I think we are now close to where we wanted to be a few weeks out from the Rugby World Cup,” said De Bruin, after the match.
“The team really played well and executed the tweaks we made very well, and that delivered not only a winning result, but also a boost of confidence to the squad and management. We worked hard to get to this point, and I can honestly say this was one of the best performances we had since I joined the squad just over a year ago.”
De Bruin said the players took the responsibility to change last weekend’s result upon themselves and made a mental switch for this weekend’s game.
“The coaches are happy that we got our combinations and spine right and we can go to the World Cup 99% sure of what we need to do to have the best performance ever,” he said. “We needed this win and the way we did it was an extra boost.”
Babalwa Latsha, who led the team on Saturday, said the squad did well to grab the opportunities they created, having failed to do so in last weekend's defeat.
“We needed this performance. We now have the knowledge and the belief that we are on the right track and will go to the Rugby World Cup in a good mental and physical space,” she said.
“We know the disappointment from last week when we did not execute and the joys of the win this week when we did, and this memory of winning is ideal going to the Rugby World Cup.”
Experienced flanker Sinazo Mcatshulwa said the physicality of the Springbok Women, the bedrock of their winning performance, will be easy to maintain as they ramp up preparations.
“When we train, it is very physical. Every session we have, from Monday to Thursday, is a physical one, so we don’t mind going to that dark place on a match day either. This was very rewarding to all of us.”
The Springbok Women’s squad for the 2025 Rugby World Cup will be announced on Saturday, August 9.