Springbok Women blitz Brazil in flying World Cup start

The Springbok Women made a near-perfect start to their Women’s Rugby World Cup campaign with a comfortable 66-6 win over Brazil in their opening clash on Sunday in Northampton, England.

It was their first victory in a Women’s Rugby World Cup since the 2010 edition – when they beat Wales in the group stage – (South Africa did not play in the 2017 tournament), but for this group of players, it’s just the first box ticked.

The goal is to reach the quarterfinals, so beating Brazil is the first step in their campaign. Their match against Italy next week is the tournament-breaker for the Springbok Women. A victory there will ensure South Africa not only win two matches for the first time in Women’s Rugby World Cup history, but also reach the knockout stage for the first time.

The Springbok Women had to, however, ensure that they didn’t stumble at the first hurdle, and this they did against Brazil by sticking to their traditional strengths.

South Africa’s powerful pack gave the team go forward off set pieces and in open play as they powered over the Brazilian players. No 8 Aseza Hele and inside centre Aphiwe Ngwevu, with their matching dyed blonde hair, were particularly robust, smashing over the advantage line at nearly every opportunity with their bulldozing runs.

The pair scored four tries between them, with Hele securing a hat-trick in a 10-try fest for South Africa.

Racking up points

The Springbok Women were dominant from the outset, but the scoreboard didn’t reflect it initially. Scrumhalf Nadine Roos ran in the opening try of the match after collecting a tidy inside ball from a trademark rampaging Hele run off the back of a scrum inside the first five minutes of the match.

Hele used her strength to carry a few players over the line five minutes later, and she got her second of the match on the 30-minute mark to take the score to 19-3 with fullback Byrhandre Dolf solid with her conversions. Dolf slotted two of the first three and eight out of 10 for the match.

Despite the 16-point gap, South Africa had several opportunities to further extend that lead, but numerous knock-ons and missed opportunities close to the tryline spoiled what could have been a first-half demolition.

Flying winger Ayanda Malinga scored after the halftime hooter to extend the score to 26-3.

Hele secured her hat-trick in the opening exchanges of the second half with the best try of the match. Dolf and Roos – the two silky, fleet-footed players among a host of powerhouses – combined to jet through from South Africa’s 22m line before Dolf popped the ball to Hele to run over an open tryline.

Flyhalf Libbie Janse van Rensburg got her name on the scoresheet as well with two quick tries, going over untouched, the beneficiary of the tireless work of the forward pack in front of her.

Bomb squad

Right after Janse van Rensburg’s second try, with the score on 47-3, head coach Swys de Bruin cleared the entire eight-player bench. The team looked slightly disjointed with half the team swapped.

They eventually found their groove with player of the match Ngwevu getting on the scoresheet, Malinga scoring her second and Lerato Makua dotting down towards the end.

De Bruin will be happy to have cruised to victory, his replacement strategy giving his star players a 30-minute break before their all-important clash against Italy in a week.

South Africa is top of Pool D after securing a bonus-point win over Brazil, which France failed to do with their 24-0 win over Italy on Saturday. DM