Springbok Women's steady growth sets the stage for World Cup push

Daily Maverick

4 days ago

After years of preparation and valuable experience, the Bok Women's team is now in search of its best performance yet at a Rugby World Cup.
The expectation on the Springbok Women's shoulders is greater than it's ever been heading into a Women's Rugby World Cup.
The tournament is less than three weeks away and South Africa (SA) is looking to reach territory it's never set foot in before: claim more than one win at the quadrennial tournament, as well as reach the knockout stage.
Experienced scrumhalf Tayla Kinsey, who will play in her third Women's Rugby World Cup when the team touches down in England later this month, has seen the side transform from largely amateur to a team that carries some expectation in its performance.
'Nobody knew about us when I got into the team in 2013,' Kinsey said to Daily Maverick, alongside the University of Cape Town's rugby fields, where the team has been training.
The 31-year-old has since amassed 40 caps for SA across 12 years – the second-most in history for the country.
Although the initial years of her international career were played in obscurity for the most part, the tide has changed and continues to change. The Bok Women are playing the Black Ferns XV (New Zealand's (NZ's) second side) in two friendly matches that are warm-up matches for the World Cup and do not count as official Test matches.
The first match at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town nevertheless had more than 4,500 spectators in attendance. A number the team would have dreamed of playing in front of when Kinsey started her career is now what they're warming up in front of.
Building up
Several factors have influenced the side's growth, but chief among them are SA Rugby's concerted efforts in improving women's rugby in the country from the domestic ­rugby structures.
This, in turn, has allowed players to play more matches and gain more experience. Despite being an international for 12 years and playing in three Rugby World Cups, Kinsey is yet to pass 50 caps. Only one South African woman has ever passed 50 caps – skipper Nolusindiso Booi, who reached the mark earlier this year.
But that's changing, as the side is playing an increasing number of matches domestically and internationally.
The Women's Domestic Cup has been turned into a double-round competition and the WXV has been introduced internationally – an annual competition between international sides.
'We've been together for a long time now, and in preparation for this World Cup, we've had a lot of Test matches, especially with WXV being in the mix,' Kinsey said.
'We've been exposed to top 10 teams, and that's exactly what we wanted.
'Especially these games now against Canada and NZ [Black Ferns XV]. We wanted hard games before the World Cup so, when we get there, we're ready to peak.'
On the domestic front, the Bulls Daisies – the Bulls' sister side – turned professional in 2023, providing domestic players with a stable career for the first time in SA. So far, other unions have been slow to follow the Loftus Versfeld-based side's path.
'With the Bulls Daisies going professional, it puts a lot of pressure on the other unions to also go professional,' Kinsey said. 'When that happens, we'll have a bigger pool of players to choose from.'
Refined performances
The growth has helped the side become competitive against the best nations in the world for the first time. In the 2021 edition of the tournament held in NZ, SA, searching for their first win at the tournament since 2010, lost all three pool matches. That included a nail-biting 21-17 loss to Fiji.
Many of the players on the field that day are still part of SA's setup now, ready to return to the world stage and put on an im­­proved display.
'There have been a lot of improvements in our team,' Kinsey said.
'We knew the 2021 World Cup was a building phase for us.
'It was a lot of girls' first World Cups. Only three of us had played in a World Cup prior…
'We knew going into this World Cup, it was the one we wanted to target. Our team was also relatively young back then, and we hardly played together. But now we've had three, four years together as a team.
'It's really showing on the field how well we are adapting together and how many combinations we can now throw into the mix.'
Astute rugby mind
The side is also led by one of the most astute rugby minds in the country in Swys de Bruin, who will have overseen the side for exactly a year by the time the World Cup starts.
The side has shown its ability to adapt to different conditions and opposition already. In their two-match series against Canada – the second-best side in the world, according to World Rugby rankings – the Springbok Women exhibited their ability to take the ball wide with their dangerous outside backs. Those matches were played on the lush fields of Nelson Mandela Bay and Loftus Versfeld in the daytime.
Against the Black Ferns XV, their games are being played at Athlone Stadium, which has a heavy outfield, making quick, tackle-dodging running tricky. Instead, they stuck it close with their forwards and were effective with the eight-player, forward-dominant game plan.
'With coach Swys, we have a good game plan, and we knew what we had to target for the World Cup, even though everyone doesn't see it. We know the steps as a team that we have to take,' Kinsey explained.
'And yes, sometimes that comes with losses, but that also comes with experience and learning through those losses.'
SA's task at the World Cup is simple: beat Brazil – which they're expected to do – and knock over Italy, which is a slightly harder task.
If they do that in their opening matches, it will be mission successful for the side, with a spot in the quarterfinals then virtually guaranteed.
Italy is currently the sixth-ranked side in the world and finished fifth at the last World Cup. France is the other team in their group, whom the Boks aren't expected to beat.
'We played Italy in WXV last year, so we have a good sense of them. So, we use that game as a training game for our World Cup game,' Kinsey said. SA lost that match 23-19 in October last year. 'We know it'll be tough, but I think with the game plans we have now and the different variations, everyone knows what they have to do for that game, because it is the one we're looking to target.'
The Springbok Wo­­men's challenge will be a tough one on 31 August at LNER Community Stadium in York, with Le Azzurre also looking for better results than their previous campaign. DM
This story first appeared in our weekly Daily Maverick 168 newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.