Springbok Women's Sevens coach Cecil Afrika applauded the effort from his team at the HSBC SVNS Valladolid, where they finished in ninth position after beating Brazil on Sunday, and said he is confident that they will keep improving in France next weekend, when the World Championship concludes in Bordeaux.
The Bok Women progressed to the ninth-place playoff courtesy of a 19-17 victory over Argentina on Saturday evening and followed that up with a 19-12 win over Brazil earlier on Sunday.
“It was pleasing to finish with wins over Argentina and Brazil and coming so close against Fiji,” said Afrika.
“We want to be playing amongst the top eight sides, and there is no reason why we cannot keep improving next weekend.”
Their improvement from 12th position in Hong Kong, where injuries had a huge impact on their preparations, was a good reward for the squad, who worked hard at their Stellenbosch base before arriving in Spain.
“We improved due to having time together on the training field and the squad becoming a tight-knit group,” said Afrika.
“We act out the principle of caring and that showed here this weekend. We care about each other, and we care about the jersey, and those elements came through on the weekend.
“We are still making silly mistakes and errors of judgement, but lots of lessons were learned. We should learn from those and come back stronger.”
The SA coach is awaiting medical updates on Byrhandré Dolf and Lerato Makua, and with Shanidené Bezuidenhout also out, he could opt to fly in replacements from South Africa.
“Lerato did not play on Sunday, and Dolf left the field against Brazil, so we will have to wait on those options,” he said. “The good news is that Shanidené is recovering following surgery.”
Afrika said the benefit of growing experience at this level will not only help the likes of Jané Mulder, but other players on their first year on the circuit as well: “Yes, she did well as a debutant so far – maybe too eager at times, but that is how they learn.
“We have grown nicely as a group, and it showed what was achieved back in Stellenbosch. We are going to France with the knowledge that we are on an upward curve.”