Swys de Bruin praised the defensive attitude and attacking prowess of the Springbok Women in their 36-19 win over Spain at DHL Stadium in Cape Town on Thursday. De Bruin, the team’s Performance Coach, hailed the display as another step forward in the preparations towards the WXV 2 and next year’s Rugby World Cup.
De Bruin was pleased with the way the side defended in the opening quarter of the match when Spain came hard and fast at the Springbok Women and in the last ten minutes, when the opponents produced waves of concerted attack once again.
“You have to give credit to Spain who really never stopped trying and really tested us in many areas,” said De Bruyn, “but I cannot fault our team for their effort on defence. What I am also very proud of on attack was the way we used our opportunities.
“People might not realise how tough the conditions were, with a swirling wind really affecting the handling for both sides. We made some errors due to that, but I cannot fault this team for effort.
“I’m very happy with the result. We are still growing in many areas and I would have loved for us not to concede that very late try but Spain showed their determination to score. Overall, it was a great game to showcase the women’s game.”
De Bruin said the impact of the work done by the assistant coaches was clear to see.
“They are top class and I’m pleased to have them. Their contributions are clear to see.”
Player of the Match, Aseza Hele, said the award was thanks to a team effort.
“We play like we train and I can attest to our training sessions being very tough. We push each other hard but once on the field, we play for each other, our jersey and our country. The effort out there was real and it was great to have some really passionate supporters in the stadium as well,” she said.
“The Spanish team certainly gave us some food for thought, but we will work on our mistakes and get ready for our first game in the WXV 2 against Japan.”
Nadine Roos said the team was finding its feet nicely and she was excited about the prospects of being tested by Japan, Australia and Italy in the next three weeks.
“We made some mistakes which we can learn from but also showed some very good phases of play and we will get confidence from that,” she said.
“The crowd support was great and we really hope we can see more of that next Friday when we come back to DHL Stadium to play Japan in our opening match.”
The Springbok Women delivered a masterclass in forward physicality, setting the perfect tone for WXV 2, starting in eight days’ time in the Mother City.
The South African pack monstered their Spanish opponents and laid the foundation for the win, with the introduction of a handful of second half replacements mimicking the Springboks’ Bomb Squad as they kept the visitors under the pump.
They didn’t only dominate the scrums and line-outs though but also tackled with vigour, often forcing mistakes from their opponents.
The Springbok Women started the game on the back foot with Spain showing their attacking intent early, despite the swirling wind but South Africa defended very well, even after losing Sanelisiwe Charlie to the sin bin for repeated infringements in the seventh minute.
The visitors finally found a hole in the SA defence when Amalia Argudo (flyhalf) sliced through from a clever inside pass on the Bok Women’s 22 to score under the uprights, adding the conversion herself to make it 7-0 after 20 minutes.
That sparked the host team to life though and a few minutes later, Hele burst over off the back of an attacking scrum for a classic No 8 try, smashing her way through three tackles. Jakkie Cilliers failed to convert but the South Africans were on the board.
The Bok Women slowly gained in confidence and took control of the match, with their pack laying a strong foundation, but at times, the backs looked a bit over-eager and were guilty of not running straight enough.
With five minutes to go in the first half, Lindelwa Gwala (hooker) put South Africa in the lead with a simple maul try, and Cilliers’ conversion made it 12-7. They had an opportunity to score late in the half but failed to make it count.
The second half started in the same way with South Africa missing an opportunity to score early on but they didn’t need a second invitation when Spain lost a player to the sin bin in the 53rd minute, with Gwala going over for her second maul try.
Cilliers converted to make it 19-7 but six minutes later the score changed to 24-7 when Libbie Janse van Rensburg (fullback) went over for her 11th Test try as the Bok Women sent the ball wide from another dominant scrum.
With that try, Janse van Rensburg also reached 200 Test points, becoming the first South African woman to pass this mark.
Spain’s replacement back Martina Marquez pulled one back for the visitors in the 65th minute but then Vainah Ubisi (lock) capped yet another superb performance with a try from a line-out, taking the ball and crashing over as Spain expected another maul to be set.
When Shaunique Hess (left wing) intercepted with less than 10 minutes to go and sprinted 80m to score South Africa’s sixth try, the deal was done.
Spain came with one last surge but it ended as it started, with South Africa on defence until Zahía Perez (centre) found a way through for her team’s third try after the buzzer had sounded.
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