‘Let's get behind our ladies': Siya Kolisi urges SA to back Bok women at world cup
Springbok captain Siya Kolisi and assistant coach Mzwandile Stick have called on South Africa to show support to the women's national team as they gear up for the Women's Rugby World Cup in England starting in two weeks' time.
The Bok women rallied from a 34–26 defeat to a New Zealand Black Ferns XV side last month to secure an important 41–24 win in Cape Town at the weekend.
Coach Swys de Bruin called the result one of the best performances he had seen since he joined the squad more than a year ago, adding it showed they were close to where they wanted to be in their last fixture before the Rugby World Cup.
The Bok women will not have it easy in Pool D. Currently ranked 12th, the South Africans take on 25th-ranked Brazil on August 24 before tough fixtures against Italy (seventh) and France (fourth) in the following weeks.
Kolisi backs Bok women to reach play-offs
The Bok women didn't win a single game in the 2021 tournament. Still, Kolisi backed them to reach the quarter-finals this year.
'We need to get behind them,' Kolisi said. 'Not just us as a team, but the whole of South Africa. It's a big year for them.'
Having come from humble beginnings in Zwide township in Gqeberha, he said he could relate to the challenges women's rugby players face in pursuing their dreams amid limited funding and opportunities.
'I don't want to be there only when the game has grown. I want to be there from the beginning, and I want them to know I am there. Because they support us.
'A lot of the girls come from the Eastern Cape and have similar stories to mine. It would be wrong of me to turn a blind eye and act like they don't need our support.'
Kolisi and Stick praised the improvement shown in the side in recent months, with Stick adding that much of that had to do with players who had plied their trade overseas, returning home and imparting what they learnt.
He also commended World Rugby for allowing the women to play as curtain-raisers to men's fixtures. He said this provided greater exposure than scheduling them separately, which would isolate women's rugby.
Bok women's Rugby World Cup fixtures
• August 24: Bok women v Brazil at Franklin's Gardens, 15:45
• August 31: Bok women v Italy at Community Stadium, 16:30
• September 7: Bok women v France at Franklin's Gardens, 17:45
This article first appeared in The Citizen.
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