Bok Women coach Raubenheimer not dispirited by World Cup opening loss to France

The Springbok Women lost their opening Rugby World Cup match tournament against favourites France on Saturday in Auckland but coach Stanley Raubenheimer was satisfied with the effort of his charges.

Fancied France walloped SA 40-5 at Eden Park in New Zealand.

“I cannot fault our team for effort,” said Raubenheimer after the match.

“The big difference was the experience between the two sides, one playing year in and year out in the Six Nations, and the other on their way back after a couple of years in the wilderness.

“France deserved the win and congratulations to them but I am pleased with the way we played in stages. We allowed them too many soft opportunities and that was frustrating.

“We again started poorly and conceded early points. Our finishing was also not the best, with a number of opportunities going astray. The intercept try also did not help at all.”

Bok Women forwards coach Eddie Myners pointed out that his pack’s scrumming and line-out created good pressure on France and showed that they can stand their ground against anyone.

“It was a bit of sweet and sour — we really did well at times, but also poor at other times,” said Myners.

“How we messed up the very first kickoff and conceded points almost immediately is a good example of us just giving momentum and tries away.

“Our maul was great though and I thought we would be rewarded when we had three strong drives at the line, but that did not happen on this occasion. Overall though it was a sound performance and we are keen to regroup and get ready for Fiji next weekend.”

SA hooker Lindelwa Gwala added that the team gained confidence from this performance, despite the scoreline.

“We stood up to France today and at times dominated them. A year ago, when we played in Vannes, we could not do that, so there is no doubt in my mind that we have improved tremendously since then.

“Today, at times, we were really on the front foot against one of the top packs in the game and that is a good boost for our confidence. That is costing us, we are making small mistakes that result in big plays for the opponents. We need to cut that out, because it is holding us back from being among the best teams.

“We have the team. I am convinced that we can compete against any team any day, but to eliminate the small areas of uncertainty and error will take time. The more we play, the more experience we will gain and the more we will eliminate the mistakes,” concluded Gwala.

The Springbok Women’s next Pool C game is against Fiji on Sunday.

Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.