Springbok women rapidly closing the gap on the elite, thanks to a focused programme

It’s a sign of the ambition of the Springbok women, and of coach Swys de Bruin, that he tempered his praise of the team despite putting on one of the best performances in the history of the women’s programme at the weekend.

The Bok women lost 34-26 to a New Zealand XV at Athlone Stadium. We are so used to seeing the men’s team win that some might raise eyebrows at praising the women despite losing. But it’s all about context.

Four years ago, the Bok women’s programme barely existed, but thanks to a concerted effort by the South African Rugby Union (Saru) in 2021, the trend is upwards.

Initially, Saru hired former Irish international Lynne Cantwell to build the programme, which she did. She established a provincial tournament and identified talent. The framework and foundation she laid in four years in the job is starting to bear fruit.

When the programme began, fewer than 3,000 women played rugby at club, or “open” level; that number is growing.

Cantwell’s careful approach saw a women’s interprovincial tournament established, and although the Bulls are the only union with a full-time professional women’s team, more are slowly coming online.

Rugby World Cup Women 2025 starts in a month, and after careful planning and focused work, the Women’s Boks’ aim of reaching the quarterfinals are a realistic expectation.

Despite losing to what was essentially a second-string New Zealand team, the signs are good that they can achieve their goal.

New Zealand have the best women’s programme and depth in the world. Their second-best is probably equivalent to a top-four team in the world.

Saturday’s performance at Athlone Stadium was tangible proof that there has been rapid growth and reason for optimism going into the World Cup.

‘Positive step’

The team took another positive step towards the Rugby World Cup in England as they recovered from being outplayed by New Zealand’s Black Ferns XV in the first half of their match at Athlone Stadium.

That was De Bruin’s assessment after his team produced a dominant second half.

“We simply did not get going in the first half, but I have to give credit to the team for the way they adapted in the second half, where we created numerous chances,” said De Bruin.

“If we did not have one of our tries disallowed at a crucial stage in the second half, who knows what could have happened at the end.”

The Bok defence leaked four tries in the first half and only two in the second, with the South Africans playing much more directly, while they also had the benefit of a strong bench, changing the tempo of the game. 

“We made a call at half time to change our approach and play more direct, and that worked for us tonight,” said De Bruin.

“It was a night where we needed physicality and the shortest route forward, and we almost managed to turn the result around, something that I am very pleased about. It is all part of the learning curve as we head to the Rugby World Cup next month. 

“We had some combinations that worked for us earlier in the season, like earlier in the season against Spain, when we scored a lot of backline tries, but tonight we needed more direct and physical ball carriers, and those combinations worked best against a very skilful Black Ferns XV team.”

Forward power

Like the Springbok men, the Bok women have a powerful pack and a strong Bomb Squad from the bench, which gives them a foothold in games against superior opposition.

On Saturday, the likes of captain and tighthead prop Babalwa Latsha and No 8 Aseza Hele led from the front with storming displays.

Behind the pack, the athletic and intelligent Nadine Roos pulled the strings, especially after halftime when she moved to scrumhalf.

Hard-running centre Chumisa Qawe took the ball to the line tirelessly and won the contact battle, while replacement centre Aphiwe Ngwevu is a brutal runner.

Jakkie Cilliers’ goal-kicking and distribution from flyhalf keep getting better, while there is a general sense of the team playing a more cohesive and structured game.

While they still lack the pure class and rugby IQ of the Black Ferns, the gap is closing rapidly.

“We don’t mind that (changing the gameplan) at all, we are good in close-range rugby where we can use our physicality,” said Latsha after the match.

“But the Black Ferns deserve credit as they showed good skills on a windy afternoon, and they really used their scoring opportunities well. Not so much for us – we created a lot of chances, but did not take them all, and that will again be a work-on for us this week.” DM

Scorers:

Springbok Women 26 (12) – Tries: Aseza Hele (2), Babalwa Latsha, Nombuyekezo Mdliki. Conversions: Jakkie Cilliers (3).

Black Ferns XV 34 (20) – Tries: Mererangi Paul, Kelsey Teneti (3), Jaymie Kolose, Hollyrae Mete Renata. Conversions: Hannah King (2).