Springbok Women v Black Ferns: History in the making

SOUTH AFRICA v NEW ZEALAND @ FNB STADIUM, SOWETO ON SATURDAY – KO 1PM

REFEREE

Zoe Naude (South Africa)

Test debut: 19 September, 2024 – South Africa 36-19 Spain

Tests as referee: 5

• Zoe Naude will referee New Zealand – and a team from the Oceania region – for the first time with this fixture.

• This will be her fourth Test of the year, having made her Guinness Women’s Six Nations debut in the middle with England’s 84-7 defeat of Scotland at Murrayfield in April.

• This is the only Test she has refereed that has been played outside of South Africa.

• She then refereed the two-Test series between South Africa and USA in July – South Africa won the first 34-21 in Johannesburg before USA claimed the second 26-19 in Pretoria.

• This will be the fourth time that Naude referees her own country, having made her Test debut with the Springbok Women’s 36-19 victory over Spain in September 2024.

• The South African was on the HSBC SVNS 2 2026 women’s panel, refereeing in Nairobi, Montevideo and São Paulo. She also refereed the HSBC SVNS 2026 round in Cape Town.

• Naude founded the Girl Power Rugby Academy for girls aged six to 18 in 2023, which has now expanded to three rugby clubs and has seen more than 200 players pass through the system.

• She will referee three matches in the WXV Global Series – Italy v Japan on 19 September, USA v Italy on 24 October and USA v England on 31 October.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

2010-25 | Played 2 | South Africa 0 | New Zealand 2

Points for: South Africa 20/New Zealand 101 (Avg. score: 10-50)

Highest score: South Africa 17 (17-46 on 13 September, 2025) / New Zealand 55 (55-3 on 20 August, 2010)

Biggest winning margin: New Zealand 52 (55-3 on 20 August, 2010)

• This will be their first meeting outside of a Women’s Rugby World Cup.

• New Zealand have won both previous encounters, which took place in England and 15 years apart.

• The most recent came in the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 quarter-finals in Exeter when Braxton Sorensen-McGee, Renee Holmes and Kaipo Olsen Baker each scored braces for the Black Ferns.

• Theresa Setefano and Katelyn Vahaakolo scored New Zealand’s first and last tries of the match.

• The margin could have been greater had Holmes not missed five conversions.

• Aphiwe Ngwevu had scored on the stroke of half-time to tie the scores at 10-10 after Babalwa Latsha had opened the scoring in the 20th minute.

• They did not score again, though, until a late try for Lerato Makua.

• New Zealand’s first win came in the pool stage of RWC 2010, a tournament the Black Ferns went on to win to secure a fourth consecutive title.

• That was a one-sided affair with Carla Hohepa grabbing a hat-trick and Huriana Manuel a brace as New Zealand ran in nine tries.

• Fiao’o Fa’amausili, Kelly Brazier, Renee Wickliffe and Casey Robertson also got on the scoresheet with Brazier converting five of her side’s tries.

• South Africa’s only points came from the boot of Zandile Nojoko, who missed four of the five penalties she attempted at Surrey Sports Park.

SA TEAM NOTES

• South Africa are five tries away from scoring 50 tries this calendar year.

• Their back-to-back wins over Fiji last month made it six wins from seven this year for the Springbok Women.

• The victory margin against Fiji narrowed from 43 points (55-12) to seven (29-22).

• Debutant winger Maria Tshiremba became the first player to score a hat-trick of tries this year in their most recent outing in Lautoka.

• Lindelwa Gwala, on the occasion of her 40th Test and Vainah Ubisi scored South Africa’s other tries in the narrow win.

• Eight different players crossed the whitewash in the first encounter, with loose-head prop Xoliswa Khuzwayo the only player to score multiple tries (two).

• South Africa’s other try-scorers were Nombuyekezo Mdliki, Lindelwa Gwala, Ubisi, Sizophila Solontsi, Maceala Samboya, Bryhandrè Dolf and Sinelitha Noxeke.

• The Springbok Women had won their first four Tests of the year before losing the second of their two-match series with USA 26-19 in July.

• The Springbok Women enjoyed a dream start in the first test with USA in Johannesburg, scoring a record 34 points against the Women’s Eagles and posting their biggest winning margin.

• They scored three tries in the opening 18 minutes Ayanda Malinga, Unam Tose and captain Babalwa Latsha.

• South Africa’s lead had grown to 29-0 by half-time after a double for Logan Welman and within a minute of the restart that had been extended to 34-0 with Ubisi’s try.

• The Women’s Eagles fought back with three tries in the final quarter to deny South Africa the victory margin they needed to climb above USA in the World Rugby Women’s Rankings.

• It took 21 minutes for the first points when the sides met again a week later in Pretoria when Alichia Arries and Micke Gunter tries making it 14-12 to USA at half-time.

• South Africa could manage only one more try through Ayanda Malinga to suffer their first defeat of the year.

• The Springbok Women began 2026 with a successful defence of their Rugby Africa Women’s Cup Performance Division title following a 35-20 win over hosts Kenya 35-20 in the title decider on 31 May.

• They had already beaten Madagascar 64-5 and Uganda 47-20 in Nairobi.

• South Africa had trailed 8-7 at half-time in the title decider with Kenya, Arries crossing in the 12th minute.

• Naima Hlatshwayo, Welman and Jakkie Cilliers crossed to turn that into a 22-7 lead by just after the hour mark.

• However, Kenya again hit back to cut the deficit to two points only for South Africa to finish strongly with a Ntsako Mbombi try, converted by Cilliers who also kicked two late penalties.

• The Springbok Women’s 10 tries against Madagascar were all scored by different players.

• Cilliers was one of those to cross and also kicked seven conversions in a Player of the Match performance.

• Arries, Aphiwe Ngwevu, Chuma Qawe, Nombuyekezo Mdliki, Faith Tshauke, Welman, Thandile Mazwi, debutant Thami Yeko and Mary Zulu also dotted down.

• South Africa had trailed 12-0 early on in their second fixture against Uganda but winger Shanique Alexander began the fight-back and further tries from Arries and Welman put them ahead 19-17 at half-time.

• They kept their line intact in the second half and scored another four tries through Thamie Yeko, Naima Hlatshwayo, Faith Tshuake and Arries.

• Cilliers was South Africa’s top point-scorer in the tournament with 46 points through two tries, two penalties and 15 conversions).

• The Springbok Women’s top try-scorer in the tournament was Arries with four.

• Following this Test, South Africa will hit the road for WXV Global Series 2026 matches against Wales (18 September), Italy (26 September) and Spain (4 October) before returning home to face Ireland in Cape Town on 24 and 31 October.

SQUAD NOTES

• Sixteen players who faced New Zealand in the RWC 2025 quarter-final have been included in the Springbok Women’s squad for this historic first meeting on South African soil.

• The squad also sees the return of seven players who missed the two-Test series in Fiji in Sanelisiwe Charlie, Gunter, Danelle Lochner, Welman, Unma Tose, Cilliers and Aphiwe Ngwevu.

• South Africa are still without the injured quartet of Nadine Roos, Sinazo Mcatshulwa, Eloise Webb and Anathi Qolo, while Lerato Makua is included with the WXV Global Series in mind but is unlikely to be first to face New Zealand.

• Dolf is in line to bring up 30 caps this weekend, becoming the 11th member of the 32-strong squad to have reached that milestone.

• Yonela Ngxingolo is the most-capped player in the squad with 46 Tests to her name, while Maria Tshiremba made her debut in their last outing against Fiji in August.

NZ TEAM NOTES

• New Zealand’s 66-19 victory over Australia in Auckland on 22 August continued their unbeaten start to the year.

• They had already retained the O’Reilly Cup after winning the first leg, 40-5 in a match that doubled as part of the Pacific Four Series.

• In her first appearance for the Black Ferns this year, fullback Braxton Sorensen-McGee took less than five minutes to score a try, which she then converted from the touchline.

• Chryss Viliko, Ruahei Demant and Liana Mikaele-Tu'u added three more tries before the break, Sorensen-McGee converting twice more to make for a 26-7 half-time scoreline.

• The scoring spree continued in a more evenly-contested second half with Maiakawanakaulani Roos, Ayesha Leti-Iiga, Vici-Rose Green and Maia Joseph dotting down before Shyrah Tuliau-Tua’a and Amarante Sititi marked their debuts with tries.

• Sorensen-McGee, the World Rugby Women’s 15s Breakthrough Player of the Year in 2025, finished the match with 21 points (eight conversions and a try).

• In Test rugby overall, she has a 76% goal-kicking success rate (19/25).

• New Zealand have only lost one of their last 14 tests since the start of 2025 (W12, D1, L1).

• That defeat, though, came against Canada in the semi-finals of Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 to end the Black Ferns’ hopes of a successful title defence.

• New Zealand claimed their third Pacific Four Series title in four years in April, with wins over USA (48-15), Canada (36-14) and Australia (40-5).

• New Zealand scored the most points (124) and tries (19) and didn’t concede a single second-half point during the Pacific Four Series.

• The Black Ferns also didn’t lose a single scrum on their own feed (25/25).

• New Zealand, however, failed to keep the penalty count in single figures in any of their three games, averaging 11 per game and they also received three yellow cards and one red.

• The Black Ferns were turned over 56 times, at an average of 18.67 per game.

• New Zealand averaged 13 entries into the opposition 22, with each visit yielding an average of 3.2 points per visit.

• New Zealand warmed up for the Wallaroos Test with a 62-19 win over a Black Ferns XV in Auckland on 14 August.

• Following this match, New Zealand will head to Europe for the WXV Global Series.

• They will face France in Lyon on 12 September, Scotland in Edinburgh on 19 September and England in Twickenham on 26 September.

• They then return home for three matches with France over consecutive weekends in Hamilton (17 October), Whangārei (24 October) and Christchurch (31 October).

SQUAD NOTES

• Two uncapped players remain in New Zealand’s squad for their remaining fixtures of 2026 after Elinor-Plum King, Amarante Sititi and Shyrah Tuliau-Tua’a all made their debuts in the O’Reilly Cup victory over Australia last month.

• Prop Ngano Tavake and fullback Maia Davis are the two still yet to make their Test debuts.

• A number of players returned for New Zealand after missing the victorious Pacific Four Series campaign in April, including World Rugby Women’s 15s Breakthrough Player of the Year 2025 Braxton Sorensen-McGee.

• Prop Santo Taumata made her first appearance since RWC 2021 in the 66-19 win over Australia but Alena Saili is still hoping to earn a second cap, eight years after making her debut in 2018.

• Renee Holmes and Katelyn Vahaakolo are unavailable to coach Whitney Hansen having linked up with the Black Ferns Sevens, while co-captain Kennedy Tukuafu is absent after undergoing surgery on a hamstring tear suffered in Super Rugby Aupiki.

COACH NOTES

• Whitney Hansen was appointed as New Zealand head coach in December on a contract running until the end of 2027 and is so far unbeaten (W4).

• Hansen, the daughter of former All Blacks head coach Steve, has replaced Allan Bunting to become only the 13th person to hold the position, and just the second woman after Vicky Dombroski in 1994.

• Hansen was part of the Black Ferns’ coaching team when they won RWC 2021 on home soil, as part of the World Rugby’s Coaching Internship Programme.

• The former Canterbury player will be joined by assistant coaches Tony Christie, former England centre Riki Flutey and Simon Kneebone.

• A teacher by profession, Hansen has held senior roles at every level of the game since taking up coaching.

• She was assistant coach of Matatu's 2023 Sky Super Rugby Aupiki title-winning side before becoming the club's head of rugby for the past two seasons.

• From 2020-23, she was in charge of Canterbury's set-piece in the Farah Palmer Cup as the team won two titles in three years, before becoming the inaugural head coach of the Black Ferns XV in 2024.

DID YOU KNOW…?

• This will be their first meeting outside of a Women’s Rugby World Cup.

• Black Ferns assistant coach, the former England centre Riki Flutey, faced South Africa once in his Test career, a 42-6 defeat in November 2008.

WORLD RUGBY WOMEN’S RANKINGS PERMUTATIONS

• New Zealand cannot improve their rating with victory over South Africa as a result of the 19.14-point differential between the teams.

• South Africa will jump three places to a record high of seventh if they can beat New Zealand, with an additional place gained if the margin is by more than 15 points.

• A first loss to South Africa will see the Black Ferns drop to third with Canada replacing them in second.

Springbok Women starting XV: 15 Byrhandré Dolf, 14 Alichia Arries, 13 Zintle Mpupha, 12 Aphiwe Ngwevu, 11 Ayanda Malinga; 10 Libbie Janse van Rensburg, 9 Unam Tose; 8 Aseza Hele, 7 Catha Jacobs, 6 Sizophila Solontsi; 5 Danelle Lochner, 4 Vainah Ubisi; 3 Babalwa Latsha (capt), 2 Lindelwa Gwala, 1 Sanelisiwe Charlie. Replacements: 16 Anushka Groenewald, 17 Yonela Ngxingolo, 18 Nombuyekezo Mdliki, 19 Nomsa Mokwai, 20 Shiniqwa Lamprecht, 21 Logan Welman, 22 Anacadia Minnaar, 23 Maceala Samboya.

Black Ferns starting XV: 15 Braxton Sorensen-McGee, 14 Mererangi Paul, 13 Amy du Plessis, 12 Logo-I-Pulotu Lemapu-Atai’i Sylvia Brunt, 11 Ayesha Leti-I’iga; 10 Hannah King, 9 Maia Joseph; 8 Liana Mikaele-Tu’u, 7 Elinor-Plum King, 7 Elinor-Plum King, 6 Mia Anderson; 5 Maama Mo’onia Vaipulu, 4 Maiakawanakaulani Roos; 3 Veisinia Mahutariki-Fakalelu, 2 Georgia Ponsonby (capt), 1 Chryss Viliko. Replacements: 16 Atlanta Lolohea, 17 Maddison Robinson, 18 Santo Taumata, 19 Laura Bayfield, 20 Amarante Sititi, 21 Tara Turner, 22 Ruahei Demant (55), 23 Justine McGregor.

Springbok Women v New Zealand - Saturday @ FNB Stadium, Johannesburg (1.30pm)

Referee: Zoe Naude

Assistant Referees: Giana Viljoen, Angie Bezuidenhout

Television Match Official: Quinton Immelman

Split Screen/FPRO: Christie du Preez