Clean sheet for Springbok Women in Seville

The Springbok Women finished their WXV Global Series tour of Europe on a high note with a clean sheet in their 20-0 victory (half-time 10-0) over Spain in hot and humid conditions at the Estadio Olímpico de la Cartuja in Seville on Sunday afternoon.

Despite an error count that was higher than it should have been, the Bok Women would have been very happy with their defensive effort as the Spanish pace and ball-in-hand approach thoroughly tested them, but they held firm.

There were some early jitters from both teams but the South Africans' scrum was solid and grew in confidence as the game progressed and although their line-out blew hot and cold, they managed to steal some possession from their hosts.

The Bok Women were also keen to spread the ball wide and while they looked good on attack, they were guilty at times of over-eagerness, which resulted in handling errors, while they also missed touch on a couple of occasions from penalties.

It took 14 minutes for the scorers to be troubled when Catha Jacobs scored a stunning try, which started with a big run off the back of an attacking scrum from Aseza Hele. The South Africans showed great patience on attack in Spain's 22 and Jacobs finished a well-deserved try, with Jakkie Cilliers adding the conversion for a 7-0 lead.

Spain kept on plugging away but the Bok Women's defence was spot-on. Both teams were keen to play, with no reward.

Cilliers landed a 30th minute penalty to stretch South Africa's lead to 10-0 and not long thereafter, Babalwa Latsha, who left the field earlier as a precautionary measure, had to return as her replacement, Nombuyekezo Mdliki, was stretchered off.

Hele made it 15-0 early in the second half when she crashed over after the Bok Women turned over possession in the Spanish 22 but unfortunately Cilliers pushed the conversion wide.

It took more than 20 minutes for the next points to be score. Spain lost a player to the sin bin after repeated infringements in their own 22, which opened up enough space and Cilliers struck, going over in the corner after another good attacking move. The conversion didn't go over but at 20-0 with just over 10 minutes to go, the Bok Women were firmly in control.

The host team never stopped trying but the Bok Women never stopped tackling and with the pack laying the foundation, the South Africans finished their WXV tour on a high note with their seventh successive win over Spain.

Score

Spain 0

Springbok Women 20 (10) - Tries: Catha Jacobs, Aseza Hele, Jakkie Cilliers. Conversion: Cilliers. Penalty: Cilliers.