De Bruin praises experimental Bok Women's half-back pairing of Roos and Webb
Springbok Women's performance coach Swys de Bruin is happy with the early signs from his experimental half-back pairing of Nadine Roos and Eloise Webb.
Roos started at scrumhalf after she had started at fullback in the first Test at Loftus, with regular centre Webb coming off the bench to start at flyhalf in Saturday's second Test against Canada in Gqeberha. The move was part of a backline reshuffle that had also seen Byrhandré Dolf start at fullback. Libbie Janse van Rensburg, who started at flyhalf in Pretoria, slotted in at inside centre.
The South Africans succumbed 33-5 to the world's No 2 team in the second Test at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium after losing the first 50-20.
'For the amount of pressure, it was a tough ask of Eloise to play her first game ever at 10. Apart from two little mistakes she recovered lovely. And Nadine plays great wherever she plays,' De Bruin said in his post-match media conference.
'I thought all our steppers, the faster girls, did well. Dolfy was superb, Jakkie (Cilliers) had a few good runs, Zintle (Mpupha) also had good runs. So the score mustn't now confuse what we're doing.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
TimesLIVE
16 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
Neo Maema to use Bafana's Chan campaign to gain match fitness
Mamelodi Sundowns midfielder Neo Maema has explained how he handled the time while he was not playing at the club. Maema, 29, who is part of the Bafana Bafana African Nations Championship (Chan) squad, said he managed to keep himself motivated while he struggled for game time last season. The South Africans kick off their Group C campaign in the Chan — the Confederation of African Football's tournament for local-based combinations — against Algeria at Mandela National Stadium in Kampala, Uganda on August 8 (4pm) Since joining Sundowns from Bloemfontein Celtic in 2021, Maema has racked up 120 games, scoring 13 goals with providing 14 assists while winning the league in each of the last four seasons. 🎙️ 'Not there yet, but getting closer!' Bafana's CHAN prep is heating up 🔥 Coach Ntseki gives us the lowdown after a behind-closed-doors clash vs Angola. #BafanaBafana #CHAN #CHAN2025 — PEFMO_ZA (@pefmo_za) July 29, 2025 'In football, you have to be professional first and the next thing is to accept the situation you are in,' Maema said after Bafana's 1-1 Chan warm-up friendly draw against Angola at Lucas Moripe Stadium on Tuesday. 'Make sure you look at yourself, check your performances and how you train and make sure you change a few things and work harder to come back strong. So, I'm my own motivation. 'I make sure that whenever I get an opportunity, whether it is an international team or my club, there are no issues there.' This is the second time Maema has been called up to Chan squad having played a crucial role in the qualifiers. He said he will use the opportunity of playing in the finals in East Africa to get his match fitness back. 'It's a huge achievement for me to be here; I'm excited and it's an honour to represent the country in arguably the second-biggest tournament in Africa. I'm happy,' he said. 'It's all about trying to get a few [game] minutes and, if the chance comes, to play. Coach Molefi Ntseki allowed me to come; it was my first call-up last time and I was happy to join the team.' The Chan is being co-hosted by Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda from August 2 to 30. Maema is optimistic South Africa will do well. 'We are professionals, we don't need a lot of time, we just need cohesion between the players because we come from different teams and we just need to make sure we come together. 'Match fitness is always going to be a bit of a problem but I don't think it's something to worry about because we have a week left before our first game and we will push hard to make sure we are ready for the tournament.' Maema might also us the Chan as a last chance to try to impress Downs coach Miguekl Cardoso, with whom he fell out of favour last season. Reports are the midfielder might be on his way out of Chloorkop and a strong campaign in East Africa might sway a change in thinking from the Brazilians.
The Citizen
2 days ago
- The Citizen
WATCH: Leading man at Corinthians Africa honored with Young Mandela 2025 Award
More accolades have come the way of Mlungisi 'Jack' Msibi (32), CEO of Corinthians Africa and founder and head coach of the blind football team based in La Rochelle. Msibi was recently honoured with the Young Mandela 2025 Award for Social Justice in recognition of his outstanding work in community development and for founding South Africa's first-ever blind football team. This prestigious award forms part of News24's Young Mandelas of the Future, an annual campaign that recognises young South Africans who are driving positive change. The initiative celebrates a new generation of visionary leaders who embody hope, compassion and innovation. Msibi's recognition stands as a testament to his commitment, perseverance and vision. His journey continues to inspire people of all ages, showing that with passion and determination, dreams can become reality. Speaking to the Comaro Chronicle, Msibi said: 'We continue to advocate for those who are visually impaired. We are doing this with the vision of expanding the league nationally, where there's already so much interest and enquiries.'
IOL News
2 days ago
- IOL News
Will Rassie's Springboks be rusty against the hardened Wallabies or hit the ground running?
The Springboks' experimental build-up contrasts sharply with the Wallabies' bruising Lions series — will Rassie Erasmus' rotation gamble pay off in the Rugby Championship? Photo: Backpaghepix Image: Backpagepix COMMENT The form of the All Blacks and the Wallabies in their respective series Down Under raises the question of whether the Springboks will be undercooked in the Rugby Championship compared to their chief rivals. The New Zealanders won a close-fought series against France 3-0; the Wallabies have been going hammer and tongs with the British and Irish Lions, while the Boks had comparatively low-key games against Italy and Georgia. The other Rugby Championship team, the Pumas, had a disappointing start to their international season, losing a home series to an England side bereft of a host of players who are in Australia with the Lions. Perhaps, more pertinently, the Springboks used their block of four matches for experimentation, with coach Rassie Erasmus making 10 changes per match and giving nearly 40 players game time. He also blooded newcomers such as front-rowers Asenathi Ntlabakanye (Lions), Marnus van der Merwe (Scarlets), Boan Venter (Edinburgh), Jan-Hendrik Wessels (Bulls), and utility forward Cobus Wiese (Bulls). The South Africans have indeed taken a different route to the Rugby Championship compared to New Zealand and Australia, and it is difficult to say who is right or wrong — there are different ways to skin a cat when it comes to preparing for a tournament. It could be argued that the chopping and changing has denied what will be the first-choice Springbok team any opportunity to play as a combination and build form. A counter-argument is that Erasmus' ideal team has played together so much over the last few years that they do not need warm-up matches as a unit, and keeping the players fresh is a greater priority — especially given that the Boks will play 14 matches this year, between July and November. The Bok combination that plays Australia at Ellis Park on 16 August will back themselves to hit the ground running because they know each other so well. The one thing Erasmus perhaps wasn't counting on was that Australia would be much better than he probably anticipated during his planning. The Wallabies went into their series against the Lions ranked eighth in the World Rugby rankings — an embarrassing position for a team that has won two World Cups. It was predicted they would lose the series 3-0, and while that might still happen, the Wallabies should have won last week's second Test. They were 30 seconds away from levelling the series thanks to a magnificent performance that was a world away from their disappointing showing in the first Test. Coach Joe Schmidt has done a fine job in fixing the Wallabies, and he will remain in charge for their two matches in South Africa before handing over to incoming coach Les Kiss. It will be interesting to see whether the Aussies kick on in South Africa after the high of the Lions series, or whether they find the Rugby Championship an anti-climax. Looking at a possible Bok side for the first Test, it is difficult to see beyond proven match-winners. The half-back combination is one of the few areas of debate. At 10, the three horses running neck and neck are Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Manie Libbok, and Handré Pollard. It won't matter a great deal whom Erasmus picks. Ditto scrum-half, although form would suggest Grant Williams is a short head in front of the other two nines in the squad, Cobus Reinach and Morne van den Berg. Possible Springboks team v Australia 15 Damian Willemse 14 Cheslin Kolbe 13 Jesse Kriel 12 Damian de Allende 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu 9 Grant Williams 8 Kwagga Smith 7 Pieter-Steph du Toit 6 Siya Kolisi (captain) 5 Lood de Jager 4 Eben Etzebeth 3 Wilco Louw 2 Malcolm Marx 1 Ox Nche.
