The Springbok Women’s team want to end their WXV 2 campaign on a high when they tackle Italy in their final match of the tournament at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday.
The Women’s Boks have produced some great performances in the tournament, beating Japan in their first match before narrowly losing to Australia in their previous encounter.
The performances have been vastly improved over the last few years, as SA Rugby has invested a lot more money and resources into the team, especially with one eye on next year’s Women’s World Cup in England.
On Saturday they want to keep that momentum going against the Italians.
“We want to finish well in this tournament,” said assistant coach Franzel September.
🗣️ "June, July, August, that's the real McCoy."
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) October 11, 2024
Springbok Women coach Swys de Bruin on the roadmap for the ladies heading into next year's Rugby World Cup 🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦![CDATA[]]>🛣️#HereForHer | #WXV2 pic.twitter.com/8gSgICkFju
“We have been playing good rugby over the last couple of weeks and want to see that growth and progress continue in our performance against Italy, who are a very experienced outfit. The systems being put in place for us are showing good deliverables and we hope for more of that on Saturday.
“We are on a Rugby World Cup trajectory and what we are doing now are building blocks towards that, but that does not mean that we don’t want to play well and win the game. The squad’s progress in many areas of the game has been commendable and if our plans for Italy come off, we will be in a very good position to win the game.”
The two teams have only played twice, with the previous match just under 12 months ago, also in WXV 2 at the Athlone Stadium. The Italians won the match 36-18 on that day.
However, the Women’s Boks have come along way since that defeat and will be looking to turn the tables on the visitors.
“Yes, our squad looks quite different, but our style has not changed that much – we still want to dominate the set piece and hope those rewards lay the foundation for victory,” September said.
Flyhalf Nadine Roos will take on the Italians for the first time in what will be the 80th Test played by the Springbok Women.
Final Session ✅ Ready to Execute! Italy here we come 😤#WXV#ETTIG#MakeItCount pic.twitter.com/KRQd6qpmzx
— SA Women's Rugby (@WomenBoks) October 10, 2024
“It is going to be a hard-fought match, but we believe that we can beat them,” said Roos.
“We came so close against Australia last weekend and the reviews showed how many opportunities to score were not capitilised on, so we know we are on the right track. We just need to execute better this time around. We really worked hard for this and I believe we will end the campaign on a high.
“Look, Italy are very experienced and well organised, so we will have to be patient in breaking them down. We know our physicality is a problem to opponents, so that will definitely be part of our game tomorrow and we expect a huge effort from our pack. The backs are finding each other nicely and I think the spectators are in a for treat tomorrow.”
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