Spirited Springbok Women ‘win hearts’ despite falling to Black Ferns in quarterfinal

The Springbok Women were outclassed and outscored but never outfought or outcoached, as they fell to World Cup quarterfinal defeat in Exeter, England, against tournament favourites New Zealand.

The clash started with few people expecting anything but a dominant, one-sided Black Ferns victory. Yet this was a proper contest between a team in their first-ever World Cup knockout match and a team that has won the title a record six times.

For the first 40 minutes of the match you’d be excused for not knowing which was which. The scores were locked at 10-10 at halftime as the unthinkable seemed possible – a South African win.

South Africa’s (SA’s) forward pack was outstanding, with coach Swys de Bruin designing a gameplan to drain every metre of advantage out of his side’s strength supremacy.

Mauls off the back of scrums, 12 and 13-player lineouts converting into 15-player mauls and attempted mauls off the back of rucks. It was a first half played on SA’s terms.

They were repelled 5m from the try-line twice after a combination of outstanding last-ditch defending from New Zealand, and slippery fingers. This inhibited SA from securing the fast start they needed despite the possession and territory dominance. They did score first though.

Under pressure

The Springbok Women were unable to sustain the pressure in the second half. with the Black Ferns showing their championship mettle minutes after the start of the second stanza. Three tries in the space of seven minutes, including one a minute into the second half, saw New Zealand move into a 15-point lead. They extended it as they found their rhythm against a tiring Springbok Women side.

“What a performance by this team, coming into the tournament ranked 12th in the world and leaving it as one of the top eight sides,” De Bruin said afterwards.

“To add to that, to deliver such a great first half against the Black Ferns proved that it was no fluke, it showed that this team is here to stay and could be the sleeping giant of the women’s game.”

The Black Ferns scored 36 points to SA’s seven in the second half, in a controlled and classy showing fitting for a side fighting for their seventh title.

First-half shine

SA, against all odds, scored the first points of the match through relentless tighthead prop Babalwa Latsha. Phase-building and keeping the ball close, rarely going past powerful outside centre Aphiwe Ngewu, saw SA constantly crossing the New Zealand gainline.

Read more: South Africa face their toughest challenge in the Women’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final

For the first time in the tournament, the reigning double champions looked vulnerable, but it took 20 long minutes for Latsha to put SA’s first points on the board.

And it only took New Zealand five minutes after that to hit back and equalise in their first period of territorial ascendancy. Flyhalf Libbie Janse van Rensburg’s attempted clearance off a scrum 5m from her tryline, was charged down with centre Theresa Setefano collecting and dotting down comfortably.

It compounded the Boks’ problems when the leading try-scorer in the tournament, wing Braxton Sorensen-McGee, provided New Zealand with the lead via a try in the corner.

Equalised by halftime

SA stuck to their strengths for the rest of the half, to equalise before halftime.

The South African women initiated another one of their 15-player mauls after a 13-player lineout, which led to their score-levelling second try.

Scrumhalf Nadine Roos was used as the jumper in the lineout on this occasion, with fullback Byrhandré Dolf the jumper the first time around.

Barnstorming centre Ngwevu went over for the score, off the back of the maul, just before the break.

“We did some unconventional things today, yes, but we had to try and think out of the box a bit,” said De Bruin.

“Our two-player lineout, followed by a 15-player lineout, certainly had New Zealand baffled, and we could score two very good tries against them in the first half.”

Black Ferns flutter

SA’s gargantuan first-half efforts could never be sustained for another half. It’s why De Bruin selected seven forwards on the bench to bolster the attempt to do so.

He was hesitant to unleash them however, as they entered the field in a trickle instead of a bomb, as the starting forwards started to tire.

New Zealand took full advantage with their slick attack, scoring four tries in the opening 14 minutes of the second half. In total they scored six second-half tries to South Africa’s one, to add to the two they scored in the first half.

Read more: Bok Women beat Italy to nail down historic first World Cup quarterfinal berth

“Unfortunately, we conceded three quick tries after the break and the game got away from us, but this team refused to stop fighting and added another try, which was yet another milestone for us,” said their coach.

“Off the field, the players did really well and it is such a blessing to be part of this team and their journey. A lot of good things came at this World Cup and the amount of messages of support was incredible.

“They certainly won the hearts of many.” DM