Springbok Women v Ireland Women: Last Test of 2026

WXV Global Series

SOUTH AFRICA v IRELAND – ATHLONE STADIUM, CAPE TOWN (3PM)

The match will be streamed live on RugbyPass TV where no local broadcaster

REFEREE NOTES

Jess Ling (Australia)

Test debut: 1 May, 2022 – Fiji 14-28 Japan

Tests as referee: 10

• Jess Ling will take charge of this fixture for the second time, having overseen Ireland’s 40-27 victory at this venue last weekend.

• This is the third time she will referee South Africa this year after taking charge of their 55-12 victory over Fiji in the first of two Tests between the sides in August.

• Ling takes charge of her fifth Test of the year, having made her Guinness Women’s Six Nations debut in the middle with England’s 61-33 win over Italy in May and also refereed New Zealand’s 66-14 win over Scotland in the WXV Global Series on 19 September.

• The Australian also refereed on the HSBC SVNS 2026 series in Dubai, Perth, Vancouver and New York, as well as the HSBC SVNS World Championship 2026 in Hong Kong.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

2006-26 | Played 2 | South Africa 0 | Ireland 2

Points for: South Africa 27/Ireland 77 (Avg. score: 14-39)

Highest score: South Africa 27 (27-40 on 24 October, 2026)/Ireland 40 (40-27 on 24 October, 2026)

Biggest winning margin: Ireland 37 (37-0 on 8 September, 2006)

First met: 8 September, 2006 – RWC 2006 – Ireland 37-0 South Africa – St Albert Rugby Football Club, St Albert, Canada

• South Africa made more entries into the opposition 22 than Ireland (14-13) when the teams met at this venue last weekend but were outscored on the try count, six to five.

• The Springbok Women led twice in the first half but were only in front on the scoreboard for a combined total of nine minutes.

• Loosehead prop Linda Djougang scored twice for Ireland, with the remainder of their tries coming from Aoife Dalton, Jane Clohessy, Béibhinn Parsons and Erin King.

• Dannah O’Brien was successful with five of her six conversion attempts, whereas Jakkie Cilliers was only able to improve one of the Springbok Women’s tries.

• The first two South African tries were scored by forwards – No 8 Aseza Hele and second-row Vainah Ubisi – before wing Maria Tshiremba continued her fine try-scoring form with their third on the stroke of half-time.

• Flanker Lerato Makua and winger Alichia Arries scored tries in the second half.

• Two of South Africa’s tries were scored while Ireland had a player in the sin-bin – captain Erin King in the first half and Eve Higgins in the second half.

• South Africa had their own discipline problems, conceding 13 penalties to Ireland’s eight.

• In the only previous meeting between the teams in Canada at Women’s Rugby World Cup 2006, Ireland ran in six tries.

• Joy Neville scored Ireland’s first try before Tania Rosser, Fiona Coghlan and Jeannette Feighery followed her over the line before half-time for a 25-0 lead.

• Feighery grabbed her second of the match just before the hour mark, before Mairead Kelly scored Ireland’s sixth try late on, which Jo O’Sullivan converted.

SA TEAM NOTES

• This is South Africa’s 13th Test of 2026, beating last year’s record of 12 in a calendar year.

• South Africa have scored 410 points at an average of 34.2 per game and conceded 297 (24.8 average) in 2026.

• Lerato Makua became the 32nd different player to cross the whitewash for the Springbok Women in 2026 when she scored South Africa’s fourth try against Ireland last weekend.

• Thirteen different players have scored tries in the WXV Global Series, with wing Maria Tshiremba leading the way on three.

• Tshiremba has scored six tries in four caps, having scored a hat-trick on debut against Fiji following her move to 15s from sevens.

• Eight of the 13 tries in the WXV Global Series have been converted, while the Springbok Women have also kicked two penalty goals, which is only bettered by Australia’s three.

• Jakkie Cilliers kicked both of the penalties, to go with her six conversions and a try in the competition.

• She is the Springbok Women’s leading points scorer this year, with 77 points.

• South Africa bounced back from their 50-19 loss to Wales in their opening WXV Global Series 2026 fixture to record back-to-back wins, 41-29 v Italy and 20-0 v Spain, before falling to a 47-20 defeat to Ireland last weekend.

• Danelle Lochner was red-carded in the 35th minute against Wales but it was later rescinded following a referral by the Foul Play Review Committee (FPRC) for a full disciplinary hearing.

• It was their heaviest loss and the most points they have conceded in 22 years of playing Wales, and only the second time this year that South Africa have failed to score 20 points (also a 26-19 defeat v USA).

• The Spain match was the first time the Springbok Women have kept the opposition scoreless since they beat Cameroon 55-0 in May 2024.

• The Springbok Women have broken new ground this year by hosting a series against the USA, playing an away series in Fiji and a first-ever game on home soil against New Zealand.

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

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

SQUAD NOTES

• South Africa have suffered an injury blow with prop Sanelisiwe Charlie ruled out after suffering a serious knee injury in training this week, although they are able to replace her with the second member of their 50-Test club in Yonela Ngxingolo.

• Lindelwa Gwala, another experienced player with 44 Tests to her name, gets the nod at hooker this weekend in the other front-row change.

• Danelle Lochner is back alongside Vainah Ubisi in the second row, which means that Catha Jacobs shifts back to join captain Sizophila Solontsi and Aseza Hele in the back row.

• Mary Zulu gets a first WXV Global Series start alongside scrumhalf Unam Tose, prompting a rejig of the backline with Byrhandré Dolf to fullback, Jakkie Cilliers to right wing and Alichia Arries to left wing.

• Insaaf Levy, who replaced the injured Ayanda Malinga in the squad for the matches with Ireland, will provide scrumhalf cover from the bench with forwards Anuschka Ekron and Nomsa Mokwai also named among the replacements.

COACH NOTES

• Franzel September and Laurian Johannes-Haupt were appointed as co-head coaches after Swys de Bruin stepped down on the eve of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry series match against New Zealand in September.

• They had already fulfilled the role on two successful tours this year - the Rugby Africa Women’s Cup in Kenya and the two-Test series in Fiji.

• Junior Springboks assistant coach Melusi Mthethwa has been drafted in as part of the coaching team.

• Dave Wessels, SA Rugby’s General Manager for High-Performance, assisted the squad in Wales and will be involved in preparations for the upcoming Tests as well.

IRE TEAM NOTES

• Ireland have won their last three tests, including the standalone match with Japan in Cork, which followed the WXV Global Series 2026 encounter in Galway.

• A fourth straight win would be their best run in just over 12 years, matching the sequence of wins against Spain, Wales, USA and New Zealand in July-August 2014.

• Ireland have scored 17 tries in winning two and losing one of their WXV Global Series matches to date, 11 of which have been converted by Dannah O’Brien.

• Eleven different players have crossed the whitewash, with Béibhinn Parsons leading the try-scoring charts with three.

• Continuing a trend from the Guinness Women’s Six Nations, Ireland have scored the majority of their points in the first half of matches in the WXV Global Series (59.8% - 64/107).

• Vicky Elmes Kinlan (v USA) and Erin King (v Japan) have received yellow cards, while Ireland are averaging 11.7 penalties per match to date.

• Sixteen of their 35 penalties were given away in the win over Japan in Galway, when Ireland were pegged back after racing into a 19-0 lead.

• Ireland have had the majority of territory in all three of their matches in the competition, averaging 55.3%.

• From an overall total of 38 entries, Ireland are averaging 2.82 points per entry.

• Ireland have had a 90.9% success rate at the scrum (20/22) but are only 78.8% for the line-out (26/33).

• Ireland’s opening game against the USA was the most points (36) they have ever scored in a match without winning in their 36-year history as a Test team.

• Ireland led USA 31-12 early in the second half, but the Women’s Eagles capitalised on Vicky Kinlan's yellow card to launch a spectacular comeback.

• Ireland finished third in the 2026 Guinness Women’s Six Nations.

• Ireland have finished in the top half of the table in all but three of the last 18 editions of the championship (fifth in 2019, fourth in 2022 and sixth in 2023).

• They have won the title twice – in 2013 and 2015, the first by a Grand Slam.

• Ireland won all three of their home games in this year’s edition – against Italy, Wales and Scotland.

• In the first Women's Six Nations game at Connacht's newly redeveloped stadium, against Italy, Galway-born winger Béibhinn Parsons delighted the 9,206-strong crowd – a record for an Ireland women's home game – by scoring a hat-trick.

• Ireland were ahead at half-time in their last four Women’s Six Nations fixtures.

• Ireland scored 73% of their points in the first half (118/163) with 18 of their 25 tries coming before the break (72%).

• Ireland’s scrum was the most successful in the championship, winning 96.43% of the ball on their feed.

• However, Ireland conceded the most penalties (52).

• Dannah O’Brien was the only ever-present Ireland player, clocking up the full 400 minutes of game time, and was Ireland’s top points scorer with 38, placing her third overall.

• Erin King was the top tackler, with 80 completed tackles.

SQUAD NOTES

• Ireland make two changes to the starting line-up for their second match with South Africa, both of them in the backline at scrumhalf and fullback.

• Aoibheann Reilly will partner Dannah O’Brien at half-back with Emily Lane dropping to the bench.

• Niamh Gallagher is the other change at fullback with Stacey Flood having to be content with a place on the bench this weekend.

• O’Brien and winger Béibhinn Parsons will both reach 40 Tests for Ireland this weekend.

COACH NOTES

• Initially appointed on a three-year contract in August 2023, Scott Bemand has had his contract extended through to the end of Women’s Rugby World Cup 2029.

• Bemand led Ireland to the inaugural WXV 3 title in Dubai later that year, successive third-place finishes in the Women's Six Nations and a Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 quarter-final appearance.

• Bemand has a 59.4% win record in charge of Ireland (P32, W19, L13).

• Ireland have scored 152 tries under the Englishman, while conceding 114.

• During his eight years with England as lead coach, the Red Roses won six Women’s Six Nations titles (including five Grand Slams), were runners-up at two Women’s Rugby World Cups and achieved the number one world ranking.

• A former scrumhalf, Bemand played professionally for Leicester, Harlequins and Bath.

DID YOU KNOW…?

• Even though they were beaten last weekend, South Africa have climbed up to ninth, their highest-ever position in the World Rugby Women’s Rankings as a result of Scotland’s latest loss to Australia.

• Zoe Naude (South Africa) will take charge of USA v England for the first time. It will the fourth time she referees the Women's Eagles in 2026, while she made her Guinness Women's Six Nations debut in the middle with England's 84-7 defeat of Scotland in April.

WORLD RUGBY WOMEN’S RANKINGS PERMUTATIONS

• Ireland will drop two places to seventh if they fail to beat South Africa for the second weekend running, slipping below a USA side beaten by England and Australia.

• They can only gain a maximum of 0.53 rating points for beating South Africa, not enough for them to improve on fifth place as they would still trail a heavily beaten by France by up to 6.71 points.

• In fact a win won’t be enough to hold onto fifth place if USA upset England in New Jersey.

• A first win over Ireland will lift South Africa to a new high of eighth, taking them above Italy.

• South Africa would instantly drop back to 10th in defeat, losing the place they gained last weekend.

Springbok Women starting XV: 15 Byrhandré Dolf, 14 Jakkie Cilliers, 13 Maceala Samboya, 12 Shiniqwa Lamprecht, 11 Alichia Arries; 10 Mary Zulu, 9 Unam Tose; 8 Aseza Hele, 7 Catha Jacobs, 6 Sizophila Solontsi (capt); 5 Danelle Lochner, 4 Vainah Ubisi; 3 Xoliswa Khuzwayo, 2 Lindelwa Gwala, 1 Yonela Ngxingolo. Replacements: 16 Anushka Groenewald, 17 Anuschka Ekron, 18 Thandile Mazwi, 19 Nomsa Mokwai, 20 Aphiwe Ngwevu, 21 Lerato Makua, 22 Insaaf Levy, 23 Maria Tshiremba.

Ireland Women starting XV: 15 Niamh Gallagher, 14 Béibhinn Parsons, 13 Anna McGann, 12 Aoife Dalton, 11 Robyn O'Connor; 10 Dannah O’Brien, 9 Aoibheann Reilly; 8 Brittany Hogan, 7 Erin King (capt), 6 Fiona Tuite-O'Sullivan; 5 Dorothy Wall, 4 Jane Clohessy; 3 Eilís Cahill, 2 Neve Jones, 1 Linda Djougang. Replacements: 16 Beth Buttimer, 17 Niamh O’Dowd, 18 Sophie Barrett, 19 Grace Moore, 20 Jemima Adams Verling, 21 Emily Lane, 22 Eve Higgins, 23 Stacey Flood.

South Africa v Ireland @ Athlone Stadium (3pm)

Referee: Jess Ling (RA)

Assistant Referees: Precious Pazani (ZRU), Giana Viljoen

Television Match Official: Matteo Liperini (FIR)

Split Screen/FPRO: Quinton Immelman