The Springbok Women have begun their Rugby Africa Women’s Cup campaign with a resounding 64-5 victory over Madagascar in Nairobi, scoring 10 tries to one. Despite the emphatic scoreline, assistant coach Franzel September insists there is still room for improvement ahead of their next outing against Uganda.
South Africa eventually overwhelmed Madagascar with their physicality and attacking power, but September admitted the performance at the RFUEA Ground was far from flawless. “We did a lot of good things, and there are things that we also were not good at, but that was expected as it was our first match of the season,” September said.
Discipline a Major Concern
The Bok Women were briefly tested early on and even trailed at one stage, but September was pleased with the composure the players showed in difficult moments. However, the assistant coach highlighted discipline as a major concern after South Africa conceded 12 penalties in the first half alone. “I think our discipline count at half-time was about 12 penalties – that’s not who we are,” he said.
September also felt the Bok Women were guilty of forcing opportunities instead of remaining patient, despite creating numerous attacking chances throughout the contest. “Sometimes we forced one or two things because we wanted to score or convert,” he explained. “We created beautiful opportunities but did not capitalise or score from them. As a coaching team, we felt that’s not a good thing, but we’ll work on that.”
Areas for Improvement
Madagascar’s willingness to keep the ball alive and attack from deep also exposed areas South Africa must tighten up before facing Uganda on Wednesday. “The way they were offloading and putting us under pressure, especially at breakdown time, kept us honest,” September said. Here are some key areas the Springbok Women need to improve on:
- Discipline: Reduce the number of penalties conceded
- Patience: Avoid forcing opportunities and remain patient in attack
- Breakdown: Improve defensive numbers at breakdown time
September reserved special praise for the six debutants who earned their first Test caps in the victory, with three of them scoring on their introduction to international rugby. For more information on the Rugby Africa Women’s Cup, visit the World Rugby website.
