Springbok Women’s coach laments breakdown issues after defeat to Canada

Springbok Women’s performance coach Swys de Bruin was left to lament an apparent lack of clarity around rules governing the breakdown after his charges’ 50-20 defeat against Canada at Loftus on Saturday.

The Bok Women were punished repeatedly by Italian referee Clara Munarani for apparent transgressions at the breakdown. They struggled to build momentum as a result, especially in the first half. They trailed 26-3 at the interval against the world’s second-ranked team.

De Bruin said his team needs more clarity around the contentious ruck area, especially with the World Cup around the corner.

“We gave away four soft tries and that was 28 points gone,” said De Bruin. “Against a team like Canada, who are really skilful and have a good style of rugby, that is never going to give you the result you want.

“Also, six of the first seven penalties against us were for breakdown infringements and that is something we will have to look at this coming week.

“We worked with (former referee) Alain Rolland during the week in order to be accurate in those areas, but the application of the breakdowns was different to what our players trained on in the week and we could not adapt.

“That is a great lesson for us though, as the same thing will happen at the World Cup, where each match will have its own dynamics. So, in that regard, today was good for us, showing us flaws in our approach.”

The Springbok Women did mount a fightback in the second half, when they scored all three of their tries.

There is no doubt that switching Bok attacking weapon Nadine Roos to scrumhalf in the second stanza was partly responsible for the change in momentum.

“I am happy to play wherever the coach wants me to play and it went well when I moved from fullback to scrumhalf in the second half. I just want to be around the ball and where the action is and I am happy that I got that chance today,” Roos said.

Key decisions continued to go against them at the ruck, however, as the visitors ran in eight tries.

“We’ve got to go sit with the girls and say this is why we’re conceding that penalty. And it’s not only the ref, it’s how they see it and how we apply it. But it puts you on the back foot and then suddenly, penalty! It’s a double whammy every time, especially against a tough team,” De Bruin said.

The coach believes, however, that the match is proof that they are closing the gap. The North Americans beat them 66-7 in their last encounter in Madrid, Spain, in 2023.

“The improvement is real and the whole purpose of this match was to show us there our weaknesses are, and we are doing well,” De Bruin said.

The Springbok Women will have the chance to make further inroads, and to try solve the conundrum at the breakdown, in the second Test in Gqeberha next Saturday.