1 July 2014
After opening their pre-World Cup tour of England and France with a 20-5 victory over the Nomads, the women’s rugby equivalent of the Barbarians, the Springbok Women face the same opposition on Tuesday, with a new-look line-up set to run out in the green and gold.
In Teddington on the weekend, the South African team ran in tries through Phumeza Gadu, Lorinda Brown, and Cindy Cant, with Cant adding a conversion and Tayla Kinsey a penalty to put the tourists 20-0 ahead before Elisha Dee scored a consolation try for the Nomads.
Sephaka’s charges face France in their final tour match on Friday.
Five players retained
Only five players who started the first game against the Nomads have been included in Tuesday’s run-on team for the clash at the Wasps Football Club, namely number eight Lamla Momoti, flank Vuyolwethu Vazi, wing Phumeza Gadu and centres Veroeshka Grain and Benele Makwezela. As the match is not a test, the squad will again be extended to 25 players.
Momoti retains the captaincy as regular Springbok Women’s captain Mandisa Williams, who missed the first match due to a bout of flu, has again been ruled out after picking up a knee injury.
Plan
“We planned from the outset to give all the players sufficient game time to prove themselves before the test against France and in the lead-up to the World Cup, and this involved handing everyone a start,” Sephaka said in a statement on Monday.
“Most of the players who were promoted from the bench to the starting team played on Saturday, so we are confident that we will build on the momentum we gained in the first tour match.”
A much tougher encounter
Sephaka said he is expecting an even tougher encounter than the weekend’s showdown with the same opposition as the Nomads now have a good idea about what to expect from his charges, while they have also had more time together to prepare for the clash.
“The Nomads made it clear after the last match that they would be better on Tuesday and we expect that as a team,” said Sephaka.
“Apart from the fact that both teams had an opportunity to study the last match and have worked on the areas of the game that were problematic, there could be dry weather tomorrow, which could result in a different approach from both teams, so this match will be a different challenge.”
Improvement required
The former Springbok prop singled out the scrums as one of the areas that had to improve before the test against France on Friday after the South Africans found themselves under pressure in that department at times in the weekend’s match.
“We have identified the problems in the scrum and we have worked hard to improve on that, so we are expecting a better performance in the set piece,” he said. “France are also a forward-dominated team and it will be vital to counter them in the scrums, so we have to get it right against the Nomads this time.”
France test
The Springbok Women will depart for France on Wednesday morning and will face the IRB Women’s World Cup hosts in Marcoussis on Friday.
Springbok Women’s XV vs Nomads
15 Siviwe Basweni, 14 Nosiphiwo Goda, 13 Veroeshka Grain, 12 Benele Makwezela, 11 Phumeza Gadu (vice-captain), 10 Zandile Nojoko, 9 Fundiswa Plaatjie, 8 Lamla Momoti (captain), 7 Vuyolwethu Vazi, 6 Rachelle Geldenhuys, 5 Andrea Mentoor, 4 Nomathamsanqa Faleni, 3 Nwabisa Ngxatu, 2 Thantaswa Macingwana, 1 Cebisa Kula
Substitutes: 16 Denita Wentzel, 17 Asithandile Ntoyanto, 18 Portia Jonga, 19 Celeste Adonis, 20 Nolusindiso Booi, 21 Shona-Leah Weston, 22 Tayla Kinsey, 23 Cindy Cant, 24 Andrea Mentoor, 25 Zandile Nojoko
SAinfo reporter
