The Springbok Women's Sevens ‘A’ side will return from Dubai on Monday, more mature, more experienced and with their coach Cecil Afrika, a happy man.
The South Africans lost out on any silverware when they were defeated by Brazil in the semi-finals of the International Invitational tournament – which was eventually won by Australia ‘A’ – but they improved game by game, something Afrika was very pleased about afterwards.
“We started a bit slow on day one to be honest, but as the matches accumulated, the players really responded in a positive way,” said Afrika.
“The improvement from the first game to the next was great to see, and the growth over the weekend was great. That was exactly what we came here for; we wanted to give our players with very little international experience some game time, and they responded so well.
“I am pleased about the growth and their ability to handle the intensity at this level. Of course, they made mistakes under pressure as well, but that was also part of the bigger plan. The way they responded was exactly what I hoped for.”
The squad also had to do without their most experienced squad member, Liske Lategan, who fell ill and could not play on the second and third days.
In the match against Brazil, who will be playing at Challenger Series 2 later next year, South Africa had to defend for most of the first half. They were stretched to the limit, and Shannon-Lee Windvogel was yellow-carded when she did not retreat 10m before making a tackle from a quick tap penalty by Brazil.
The South Americans were experienced enough to make that extra attacker count and scored just before the halftime break. The conversion was good, and the lead was seven.
The second half saw the South Africans dig deep, and they played some good rugby. Windvogel scored from a lineout move with four minutes left on the clock, but the conversion from the sideline was wide, leaving them two points short.
The Bok Women’s Sevens ‘A’ side piled on the pressure for the remaining minutes, and with no time left on the clock, Byrhandré Dolf kicked ahead, but Brazil could scramble back to dot down and bring an end to the game.
The squad will return to Stellenbosch on Monday afternoon and train on Tuesday, before training with Canada Women on Wednesday.