After obliterating Brazil 66-6 in their opening 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup group match last Sunday, the Springbok Women now turn their focus on Italy, one of the most unpredictable teams in the tournament.
Today’s Pool D match will take place at the LNER Community Stadium, an 8 500-capacity, multi-purpose venue in York, England where the World Cup is taking place.
The match will kick-off at 4:30pm (SA time) and a win for the South Africans will secure them a spot in the last eight stage of the competition.
Their emphatic win over the Brazilians has set them on the right groove going forward and it was also a statement of intent to their opponents.
According to the SA Rugby website, immediately after the victory, they were given Monday off to rest and recharge.
On Tuesday, they were back in action, going through their paces at St John Community University in York and their attitude brought smiles to the faces of the coaching staff, with Bok Women assistant coach Franzel September very pleased with the intensity and technique from the squad.
“It was good to get back to zero again after the good win over Brazil on Sunday. We saw some good things from the Brazil game and celebrated that victory, but that is in the past now. Italy is all at that matters,” said Franzel.
“They had some issues in the France match, but they have time to fix it. We would of course wanted them to be off the pace against us, but I doubt if that will be the case as that will be a definite work-on for them in the week,” he added.
The SA coach said the Springboks’ focus remains the same for the round two match at the York Community Stadium on Sunday.
“In any World Cup you have to close the chapter after each game and start a new one with a different focus,” said September.
“We wanted to get going and gain some momentum in doing so. The 10-try win gave us all of that, but we are mindful that we need to start afresh against Italy.
“They are a very experienced side with a very good kicking game, so will challenge us in different ways to what Brazil did. We need to be ready for that. We pride ourselves on our set piece and I believe our power game will deliver the result we want this weekend.”
Bok Women captain Nolusindiso Booi praised the players and said their appetite for hard work was telling.
“We really played for 80 minutes,” she was quoted by SA Rugby.
“There was a time early in the first half where we lost a little, but the team came back well. The replacements also did what was expected. Winning a game at the World Cup in such a manner is something I am proud of as captain.
“We are not getting ahead of ourselves, they have been in the top ten in the world rankings for a long time and will also hurt after their defeat to France, so we will have to be at our best. The coaches already have a plan and strategy and they got it spot-on for the Brazil game,” she added.
Nadine Roos, Aseza Hele, Ayanda Malinga and Lerato Makua scored the tries for SA while Byrhandre Dolf made eight conversions.
