Springbok Women looking to complete a double over Spain

The Springbok Women will be looking to register a double over Spain when they meet in the second and final Test of their Women’s Winter Series at Fanie du Toit Stadium in Potchefstroom on Friday.

Springbok Women thumped Spain 44-5 at Ellis Park last weekend and coach Stanley Raubenheimer will be expecting a similar effort, if not more, to claim a first home series victory against their European counterparts.

Raubenheimer said they are determined to put together an improved performance.

“We would want to play as well as we played in the first Test, but we know each game is a new game.

“After enjoying the previous one, you have to start afresh; so the focus is on what we have to do for this game and not look at Spain. They are going through a transitional period where we were three to four years ago when they beat us comfortably.

“There is always room for improvement; our restarts from last week were not good and we need to improve in that area, but we are hoping for a similar result.”

Raubenheimer added that they are looking to dominate in a number of areas of their game.

“I want them to dominate a bit more, especially at scrum time, and though our continuity was good enough, our decision-making at the end of the game was not good.

“There are some areas where we have to get better. A big thing for us in this Spanish block was to focus on our performance and our execution and, hopefully, we can get it a little bit better tomorrow.”

Babalwa Latsha, who will lead the team in place of Nolusindiso Booi, said excitement levels are high.

“The energy in the squad is fantastic.

“This week, we have been working on and zooming in on key focus areas we identified in the game. The chance to again play in front of a home crowd is also another boost, so we are looking forward to the game.

“Our main focus is on ourselves and what we need to do to be at our best at the Rugby World Cup. Everything we’ve been doing since the Africa Cup until now is in preparation for the World Cup.

“So, I think we are well on track, we’ve made great progress throughout several weeks and I think we want to peak at the right time.”

Latsha also reflected on the social project the team have embarked on for the match.

“We linked up with the Menstruation Foundation. The key thing is to raise as much funds as possible and to collect as much sanitary products as possible, which we will then distribute to women who don’t have access to it.

“So, the ‘entry fee’ for our game at the Fanie to Toit Stadium is a packet of sanitary products. We felt it fitting because it is Women's Month and we'd like to carry on with that now and beyond to continue empowering young women, especially.”

Springbok Women: 15. Nadine Roos, 14. Nomawethu Mabenge, 13. Zintle Mpupha, 12. Aphiwe Ngwevu, 11. Simamkele Namba, 10. Zenay Jordaan, 9. Unam Tose, 8. Aseza Hele, 7. Sinazo Mcatshulwa, 6. Lusanda Dumke, 5. Catha Jacobs, 4. Lerato Makua, 3. Babalwa Latsha (capt), 2. Roseline Botes, 1. Yonela Ngxingolo

Replacements: 16. Lindelwa Gwala, 17. Sanelisiwe Charlie, 18. Azisa Mkiva, 19. Nompumelelo Mathe, 20. Sizophila Solontsi, 21. Rumandi Potgieter, 22. Libbie Janse van Rensburg, 23. Chuma Qawe

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