There is no way that the Springbok Women will roll over in their Women’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final against New Zealand in Exeter after fighting the odds, training for hours and hours, and spending months away from family and friends.
That was the message from team captain Nolusindiso Booi as the South Africans completed their preparations for their first RWC playoff, against the defending champions, the Black Ferns, at Sandy Park on Saturday.
Booi said the match will not only mark a special day in the history of South African rugby, but it will mark a special performance from her team as well.
“There is something special about this group – we come from different backgrounds and all of us have different stories on how rugby shaped our lives,” she said on Friday.
“But one thing is pulling us together and making us work together with a smile and a common purpose, and that is what the Springbok Women’s jersey stand for. We will run onto that field tomorrow as one and no one is leaving anything out there.”
Booi has already indicated that this will be her last year of playing Test rugby and as such, she is treating every game as if it the last one she will play in the green and gold.
“So for me, it is easy to get motivated and leave it all out there as I know it could be the last one ever, and I don’t want to regret that I did not empty the tank,” she said.
“For the rest of the team, the motivation might be different, but the effort will stay the same for all of us. This is the moment we worked for, and we owe it our ourselves, our supporters, our sponsors and everyone who invested time, effort and money into this team, to go out there guns blazing. If we come up short but we gave it all, even then it will be worth it.”
Booi said the Black Ferns’ reputation and record are well established and deserved, and they are going to Sandy Park as the underdogs.
The only time the two teams ever played was in 2010 when the World Cup was held in England as well, with the Black Ferns winning 55-5 in Guildford. Booi played in that match, coming off the bench in what was the start of a record-breaking career.
“Yes, it could be my last match against them as well, but hopefully not,” she said. “We did not come this far just to participate tomorrow. We did not work this hard to just come and play. Winning is the only thing in our minds right now.
“We have seen that if we put our minds and bodies together as a team, beautiful things can happen.”