They have been down this road before and are well aware of the potholes and speed bumps of top flight international sevens rugby, but according to Springbok Women’s Sevens captain Mathrin Simmers, they are still keeping their eyes firmly on the first step of their new journey towards HSBC SVNS qualification.
That journey starts at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday, where the South Africans will face Hong Kong China and Czechia in Pool A of the first World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2025, two opponents that are respected, but not feared, according to Simmers.
“We have a plan for both opponents,” said Simmers on Friday.
“We are expecting the opening game against Hong Kong China to be a fast and expansive as they like to move the ball around. Our defence will have to be on par, but the crucial part will be our synergy on attack.
“We have an experienced core of players, but we have not played in a tournament since November when we won the Rugby Africa Women’s Sevens in Ghana.
“That said, there are enough experienced players in all areas to hit the straps, while we did play a number of training matches and chukkas against a variety of opponents and styles in recent weeks.”
Simmers expects the Czechs to be more physical and direct in their approach, where defence will be very important: “We are hoping that our rush defence will put our opponents’ skill set under pressure. I am really happy we have Rights Mkhari back on the field, she is so great in defence and getting our defensive lines connected.”
Simmers added that the experience and calmness of Nadine Roos, Ayanda Malinga and Zintle Mpupha will be vital to keep the new and younger players in the group calm and focused.
“There are six players here who played in the previous Challenger Series, so they know what to expect and that will help to calm down the younger players,” she said. “We are not getting ahead of ourselves, but we do have a good team coming into the tournament and we are confident that we will do well if we execute.”
Pools:
Pool A: South Africa, Czechia, Hong Kong China
Pool B Argentina, Thailand, Mexico
Pool C: Belgium, Uganda, Colombia
Pool D: Poland, Kenya, Samoa
SA pool fixtures – Saturday, 1 March:
15h55: Hong Kong China
19h36: Czechia
Springbok Women Sevens squad for the opening Challenger tournament:
#1 Leigh Fortuin
#4 Zintle Mpupha
#6 Felicia Jacobs
#7 Maria Tshiremba
#8 Kayla Swarts
#9 Nadine Roos
#10 Mathrin Simmers (captain)
#13 Kemisetso Baloyi
#16 Shiniqwa Lamprecht
#23 Ayanda Malinga
#27 Alicia Willemse
#29 Rights Mkhari
