Springbok Women head coach Swys de Bruin expressed satisfaction with the progress his team has made in the two-Test against the USA Eagles Women, where a win each squared up the series, and said it bodes well for the remaining matches in 2026.
Reflecting on their 26-19 defeat at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday, the Bok Women coach admitted that although the result hurt, his players deserved praise for their efforts over the last couple of weeks, preparing for and playing the USA Eagles Women.
“If you asked me two months ago if I will accept a drawn series, I would have taken it,” said De Bruin.
“After today, where we did not play our best rugby, I am still pleased with the progress. We were one try away from drawing the match and the fightback we showed was very pleasing.”
De Bruin said he was frustrated at the results around the breakdown, where they were often penalised: “I will have a good look what went wrong there. Maybe our support players did not arrive in time or maybe they got lucky, but the bottom line was that it robbed us of momentum and we just could not get going. It was frustrating, but it is something we can fix.”
According to the Bok Women coach, the players were not taking the defeat well, as it should be.
“The days of us accepting defeat are gone and I love that attitude,” he said.
“We are now taking on the big teams and matches against them are a real arm wrestle. Look back at a year ago when Canada rolled us over here at Loftus. The progress is real and we can feel it.”
The low of defeat after last weekend’s win will also make the team stronger, he feels.
“We have some tough matches for the rest of the year and we will have to dig deep,” said De Bruin.
“What I know about our team after these two matches is that their fight is real and they refuse to give up. The fact that we scored three very good tries was also very pleasing.”
Bok Women Babalwa Latsha said that although the execution on the day was not their best, the reality of playing on the big stage has been embraced by all.
“We certainly are on an upward curve since the Women’s Rugby World Cup and we are starting to believe,” said Latsha.
“We have no plans to go back to the team of old, we are here and we are real. Today’s result was marginal and we showed over the last two weeks that can compete with the top sides in the world.”
The squad will have a short rest before they will return to their Stellenbosch base to prepare for a two-Test tour to Fiji in August.
ladysmith
The Confederation of African Rugby is the governing body of rugby union within Africa and currently has 37 members. It runs various rugby tournaments within Africa including the CAR Super 16 and the Africa Cup.
Spunky Chick
The 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan marked the first time the tournament was held in Asia, reflecting the sport’s growing global appeal. The competition featured 20 teams, with South Africa emerging as the champions after defeating England in the final. The next Rugby World Cup is scheduled for 2023 in France.