On a resplendent Johannesburg winter’s day, South Africans might have been protesting down the road while helicopters whirled by, but at Springbok Women’s training, there was nothing but unity, intent, and focus as they were taken through their paces in the rarefied air.
Sporting a pink #2B2BS bucket hat, Bok Women flyhalf Libbie Janse van Rensburg ran drills at pivot with her team through a series of intense exercises, as they prepare for the first Test of their bilateral series against the US on Saturday at Ellis Park (kick-off 1.30pm).
This Bok Women’s team have not played a Test since last year, when they famously reached the quarter-finals of the Women’s Rugby World Cup for the first time, although a version of the squad did retain the Africa Cup earlier this year. And it was clear from Tuesday’s training that the South African senior national women’s rugby team have made a step up in both fitness and physicality.
Facing an eighth-ranked US team, then, will be a good guide as to how much this current crop of players have developed and matured since September last year.
“Coming out of the World Cup so successfully, we need to keep building that momentum,” Janse van Rensburg said after training.
“Whether it is through winning games or improving the way we play, our goal for now is to maintain that World Cup momentum and keep growing the Springbok Women’s brand.
“The only way we are going to get better is through playing against opposition that is much stronger than us,” Janse van Rensburg added, now referring to recent results against Kenya, Uganda, and Madagascar, which led to them defending their crown as champions of Africa.
“It is easy for us to have our tails in the air, feeling confident after beating teams that are ranked much lower than us, but the real challenge comes in playing top-level teams, finding our weaknesses, and improving upon them from there.”
Springbok Women flyhalf Libbie Janse van Rensburg. Photo: Backpagepix
The Bok Women’s forward play has become something of a revelation and also, now, a known factor. As such, the team will need to guard vigilantly against the US, who are expected to expose their hosts’ defence by moving possession out wide with pace.
“We definitely won’t step away from our forward-dominated game,” Janse van Rensburg assured.
“It is a strong part of our team and a part of our DNA. No matter who we play, we always go in knowing our forwards are the most dominant. For the backline, we have to step up and do our jobs when it comes to the wide ball being played.
“In that respect, we have definitely changed our defensive structure a little bit.
They like to take the ball out wide so we’ve had to adapt a little bit, especially as the backline players, in order to get ourselves in the best position so they don’t get around us and we stop them on the edges rather,” Janse van Rensburg concluded.
The last time the Bok Women encounter their US counterparts, was in March 2024 in London. On that day, the South Africans were guilty of gifting easy points to their opponents in a 38-17 loss.
Now, a little bit wiser and a lot more experienced, with homeground advantage to back them up, Janse van Rensburg and Co will look to lay down a marker this weekend before moving on to the second Test a week later at Loftus Versfeld.
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