Bok Women ooze optimism while sharing their expertise in Zwide
The national team are coming off the back of a 50-20 defeat at the Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria at the weekend and have been in constant training and preparation ahead of their second Test against Canada at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium on Saturday.
But the Bok Women found time in their busy schedule to run a training workshop in the backyard of men's double World Cup-winning captain Siya Kolisi, as the youths got the opportunity to run drills with the team and get a feel for what to expect in a competitive rugby environment.
The Boks' socially responsible presence is always felt in inner-city communities, where effective communication encourages the youth to pursue sports and interact with South African heroes.
The team's second row lock, Catha Jacobs, reinforced the critical nature of rugby promotion
'A big thing in our team is to promote rugby, to grow rugby for girls and for boys.
'Being out here today having loads of girls and boys here, this is why we play rugby, for days like this.
'The girls here, the boys here, they are the future of rugby.
'If you have a dream, follow your dream, work as hard as possible and also surround yourself with people who have similar goals as you, and that will help you.'
Under the experienced captaincy of Nolusindiso Booi, the Boks have their eyes set on the Canada game with great optimism while looking to gain as much preparation as possible to guarantee a fortifying run at the Women's World Cup in August.
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eNCA
7 hours ago
- eNCA
Springboks move captain Kolisi to No 8 for Australia opener
JOHANNESBURG - South Africa captain Siya Kolisi will start at No 8 for the first time in a Test when they begin their Rugby Championship defence in Johannesburg on Saturday against Australia. The 34-year-old double Rugby World Cup winner, who makes his 94th Test appearance, is usually to be found on the flank but has operated in the position for his franchise, the Durban-based Sharks. He will do it for the first time for the Boks largely because the other leading contenders are all unavailable. Regular No 8 Jasper Wiese is serving a four-match ban after head-butting a rival in a warm-up victory over Italy last month. Other options Elrigh Louw and Cameron Hanekom suffered serious pre-Springbok season injuries and are unlikely to be available this year. Moving Kolisi means flanker Marco van Staden comes into the starting line-up with reigning World Rugby Player of the Year Pieter-Steph du Toit completing the back row. Manie Libbok gets the nod at fly-half ahead of Handre Pollard and Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu with head coach Rassie Erasmus well aware of the record of the Japan-based playmaker. The Springboks have lost only one of 13 Tests when Libbok started -- the pool defeat by Ireland at the 2023 World Cup in France. But when the 28-year-old came off the bench in seven internationals, record four-time World Cup winners South Africa lost four. Creative Libbok is capable of opening the tightest defences, but doubts remain over his goal kicking, a skill perfected by Pollard. Grant Williams has moved to the front of the queue for the hotly contested scrum-half position and starts with veteran Cobus Reinach providing cover on the bench. Erasmus has opted not to risk star winger Cheslin Kolbe or veteran centre Damian de Allende as both are recovering from niggles. Edwill van der Merwe, who has scored five tries in three Tests, replaces Kolbe on the right wing while Andre Esterhuizen fills in for De Allende at inside centre. "Cheslin has recovered from a niggle and trained with us last week, but we decided to exercise caution and give him extra time at training before selecting him," said Erasmus. "Damian picked up a back niggle and will train this week, but Andre has been strong for us in the last few seasons, so it was an easy decision to name him alongside Jesse (Kriel)." Australia flew to Johannesburg after a 2-1 series loss to the British and Irish Lions. The Wallabies want to snap a four-match losing streak against South Africa and will name their team on Thursday. Team (15-1) Aphelele Fassi; Edwill van der Merwe, Jesse Kriel, Andre Esterhuizen, Kurt-Lee Arendse; Manie Libbok, Grant Williams; Siya Kolisi (capt), Pieter-Steph du Toit, Marco van Staden; Lood de Jager, Eben Etzebeth; Wilco Louw, Malcolm Marx, Ox Nche
Daily Maverick
8 hours ago
- Daily Maverick
Kolisi to pack down at No 8 as Boks send early message to Wallabies for Championship opener
Siya Kolisi will captain the Springboks from No 8 against Australia at Ellis Park on Saturday. Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus laid down an early gauntlet to Australia for the Rugby Championship opener at Ellis Park by naming his team on a Monday. That's a full five days before the match, which is unusually early, even by the Boks' standards. In recent years the Boks have taken to naming their team on a Tuesday, which broke from the tradition of teams naming as late as possible (48 hours before the match) to avoid being overanalysed. But there is so much player and team data out there these days that any self-respecting coaching staff will have all the detail they need on every player they will face. Erasmus, as he has always done, is essentially saying to the Wallabies: 'This is our team, you know what's coming, now try and stop us.' And it will take some stopping, especially at a stadium that has not been kind to the Wallabies in the professional era in which they have lost six times. While Erasmus' approach of revealing his team so early could be viewed as gamesmanship, the reality is that Boks have known for weeks what the team will look like. They break the season down into three large blocs — incoming tours in June/July, Rugby Championship in August and September and the end of year tour in November — and within that there are micro-blocs. The two Tests against the Wallabies, the two against the All Blacks in New Zealand and then two against the Pumas. The players know where they stand in terms of selection, assuming everyone is fit. Cheslin Kolbe (knee) and Damian de Allende (back) are both carrying 'niggles' and were not considered, but other than that Erasmus selected from a full-strength squad. Kolbe could have played, but Erasmus decided against risking him, while the timeline in De Allende's case is less clear at this stage. Breakdown focus Captain Siya Kolisi has been named at No 8 for the first time, in his 94th Test, with Marco van Staden operating from openside flank. There is a clear plan to shore up the breakdown as it was an area Australia did well in against the British & Irish Lions. With hooker Malcolm Marx another breakdown menace and Kwagga Smith to come from the bench, the Boks have that area well covered for the full 80 minutes. Erasmus admitted there had been a change of thinking about Kolisi's versatility. 'A couple of weeks ago, I said Siya is a No 6, not a No 8, but we have changed our minds. Australia have a lot of threats at the breakdown so we wanted to get Marco and Siya in the team,' Erasmus said. And while Erasmus has named a traditional 5-3 split between forwards and backs among the reserves, the selection of hybrid player André Esterhuizen gives the Boks the option of an extra flank. Esterhuizen will start at inside centre against the Wallabies. He was used in a hybrid role when he moved to flank against the Barbarians in June, an experiment that went well and which Erasmus said would continue to be used throughout the season. The pack has a commanding look about it with Eben Etzebeth and Lood de Jager united in the second row. Pieter-Steph du Toit completes the loose trio, and in tandem with the two locks gives the Boks plenty of lineout options. Wilco Louw is preferred at tighthead this week with the brilliant Ox Nché at loosehead. The Wallabies might prefer to steer clear of scrums. 'We've been experimenting with player combinations during the incoming series and at our conditioning camp in the last two weeks, and we believe this team will allow us to play the type of rugby we want to play against Australia,' said Erasmus. 'The Wallabies will be determined to change their win record against us in the last three seasons and we are confident that the players we selected will be up for the challenge. 'All of the starters except for Edwill have faced them before, and we are confident that he is ready for this challenge.' Attacking silk Manie Libbok starts at flyhalf with a backline primed to attack. Try-glutton fullback Aphelele Fassi and wing Kurt-Lee Arendse and Edwill van der Merwe make for a salivating attacking back three. Van der Merwe has scored five tries in three Tests, while Arendse has already amassed 20 tries in 26 Tests. Fassi is also prodigious when it comes to scoring tries, with seven in 12 Tests. Fassi though, is a wonderful creator, as well as being superb under the high ball. Grant Williams at scrumhalf is a massive attacking threat, and Libbok's ability to bring teammates into the game with his selfless and visionary approach could be significant. And by all accounts the work he has put in on a new, faster kicking regimen is paying off. Canan Moodie, Damian Willemse and Cobus Reinach offer versatility and class from the bench. It's a balanced side that will ask significant questions of the Wallabies, while also being able to answer any tough questions Australia might throw back at them. Reserves props Jan-Hendrik Wessels and Asenathi Ntlabakanye are inexperienced, presenting perhaps the only chink in the Bok make-up simply because of their lack of big match history. But they have to gain experience somewhere and there are few better places than Ellis Park. The Boks have spent two weeks preparing for this match on the back of four good wins during the incoming tours, but they remain respectful of the Wallabies in light of the recent Lions series. Australia lost the series 2-1 but were unlucky in the second Test. They could just as easily have won the series 2-1, but as it was they had to settle for a consolation 22-12 third Test victory. 'Australia showed that they are on the right trajectory in their last two matches against the British & Irish Lions, and we have no doubt they will enter this match with confidence and determination to build on those performances,' Erasmus said. 'They are a physical and well-coached team. We'll certainly not underestimate how much those performances, combined with their motivation to bounce back strongly against us after the last few results between the teams, and win their first match ever at Ellis Park, will inspire them. 'That said, we have also been working hard to keep building on our game and improve, and we believe our two-week conditioning camp has placed us in the right frame of mind for the Rugby Championship. 'So hopefully we can transfer that hard work into our game to place ourselves in a good position to defend the title.' DM South Africa: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 André Esterhuizen, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Siya Kolisi (captain), 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit , 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nché. Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Canan Moodie, 23 Damian Willemse.
The South African
8 hours ago
- The South African
Springboks to make late team change?
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus took an interesting decision to publicly reveal his team for their Rugby Championship opener on Monday, and there were a couple of surprise selections. Siya Kolisi will start at No 8, and Manie Libbok cracks the nod at flyhalf, while the bench sees a more traditional 5-3 forwards-to-backs split. However, with the Wallabies only announcing their team later in the week, Erasmus has admitted there is a small chance they could make a late change depending on what Australia do. If Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt opts for a 6-2 split, the Springboks are then likely to bring in another forward – expected to be RG Snyman – to strengthen the 'bomb squad' in terms of forward firepower. Canan Moodie would then likely be the unlucky back to miss out. As it stands, Erasmus opted for five forwards and three backs on the replacements bench, where Bongi Mbonambi, Wessels and Ntlabakanye will serve as the impact front row, along with utility forwards Franco Mostert and Kwagga Smith. The three backs on the bench are Cobus Reinach, Canan Moodie, and Damian Willemse. Springboks: 15 Aphelele Fassi, 14 Edwill van der Merwe, 13 Jesse Kriel, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Manie Libbok, 9 Grant Williams, 8 Siya Kolisi (captain), 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit , 6 Marco van Staden, 5 Lood de Jager, 4 Eben Etzebeth, 3 Wilco Louw, 2 Malcolm Marx, 1 Ox Nche. Replacements: 16 Bongi Mbonambi, 17 Jan-Hendrik Wessels, 18 Asenathi Ntlabakanye, 19 Franco Mostert, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Cobus Reinach, 22 Canan Moodie, 23 Damian Willemse. Facts and Stats: Head-to-head v Australia: Played 95; Won 52; Lost 40; Drawn 3; Points for: 1 923, Points against: 1 672; Tries scored 227, Tries conceded 171; Highest score 61-22 (Pretoria, 1997); Biggest win 45 points (53-8, Johannesburg 2008). Win % 54.7%. Miscellaneous: Should the Springboks win, it will be the first time they have won five successive Tests against the Wallabies in more than half a century (they won seven matches in a row against Australia between 1969 and 1971). Eben Etzebeth will extend his record as the most capped Springbok of all time to 134 Test matches when he takes the field. He will also move past Conor Murray as the 11 th most capped men's player in rugby history, which will see him level with Gethin Jenkins in joint-10 th place on the list. most capped men's player in rugby history, which will see him level with Gethin Jenkins in joint-10 place on the list. Springbok captain Siya Kolisi's starting berth will see him strike 94 Test caps, meaning he will only require six more Test appearances to become the ninth player in South African rugby history to earn 100 Test caps. A victory for the Springboks will see them extend their unbeaten run against the Wallabies at Ellis Park to seven matches. They have never lost a match against Australia at the iconic stadium. The Boks have won six of their last 10 matches against the Wallabies – a track record they will be determined to improve on this weekend. Their last defeat against the Wallabies was in Adelaide in 2022. The average caps per player in the backline are 26, the forwards 68 , while the players on the bench average 39 . the forwards , while the players on the bench average . The total Test caps for the Springbok starting line-up are 725. There are 180 caps in the backline, with 545 caps amongst the forwards. On the bench, there are a further 312 caps. Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
