The much anticipated WXV 2 has finally kicked off at the Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch, South Africa. The tournament starters were Italy and Japan where the Italians were on the winning side, 28-15. The vibe started being vibrant right before the host country kicked off with National flags, good music and supporters from everywhere.
Even though Scotland (9th) is ranked above the Springbok ladies (12th) the game started off on a physical encounter with the host country not standing back. Libbie Janse van Rensburg who made her Springbok debut back in 2021 at the Danie Craven, put SA in the lead with a penalty kick just 7 minutes in the game.
In the first few minutes of the game, both teams were tight on the defence but thanks to the Springbok Women's forward pack they managed to dominate the scrums. Scotland was the first team to visit the try-line, Evie Gallagher securing the 3 points and Helen Nelson came through with the conversion. The Bok women hit right back just 3 minutes after Scotland were in the lead 5-3 with a fantastic run from Aseza Hele upgrading into a try.
Both teams showed to play a fast-paced game which kept the supporters on the edge of their seats. The Six Nations contenders had more ball possession before halftime and managed to score two tries by Scotland no.2, Lana Skeldon. At half time the Springbok women were on the trail 10-17.
After half-time, you could tell that the Scottish went to do some more homework as they came out fire blazing. A true asset for the team was no.22 Meryl Smith who came up for flyhalf, Nelson, having missed 2 conversions. One good pointer for the Bok women was their physicality in the scrums but their defence let them down at the end having conceived two tries in the second half.
Another milestone for the Bok women was Cindy Booi coming off from the bench making her 38th appearance for the Springboks and making her the most capped player in the history of the Springbok women. The full-time score was 31-10 in favour of the Scottish.
Post-match reaction from the Springbok head coach, Louis Koen: “Some of the positives I can take from the game is the experience we get from the competition and having to play a test match against a top European team”.
Scorers:
South Africa: Tries: Aseza Hele, Roseline Botes. Conversions: Libbie Janse van Rensburg (2). Penalty: Libbie Janse van Rensburg.
Scotland: Tries: Evie Gallagher, Lana Skeldon x2, Leah Bartlett, Lisa Thomson. Conversions: Helen Nelson, Meryl Smith (2).
Article by: Mandisa Maphisa