It was a mixed bag of emotions for Springbok Women's Sevens coach Renfred Dazel in Accra, Ghana on Sunday after his squad bagged another Rugby Africa Women's Sevens title and by doing so, secured qualification for the World Rugby Challenger Series next year.
South Africa outplayed Kenya 19-10 in the final of the tournament and Dazel praised his troops for the effort, delivered in tough conditions at the University of Ghana Rugby Stadium.
“It was not easy – conditions were tough out there and although we made it look easy at times in some of the pool games, it was far from that,” said Dazel.
“Six of our team were playing in their first Africa Cup and credit to them, they adapted well. We needed to do well here to qualify for the Challenger Series next year, so it was the job done successfully.
“We have now laid the foundation for the rest of the season, going into the Challenger Series next year and then hopefully getting into the World Series play-offs.
“Our squad will change a lot as we have some players that are part of the Springbok Women Rugby World Cup campaign, but I confident that this experience here will guide the younger players in our group.”
The players in the training squad that stayed behind in Stellenbosch also had training matches against Belgium on Friday and that will help in selecting a squad that will travel to the Dubai Sevens, where they will play in the International Invitational tournament at the end of the month, without the XVs players, Dazel explained.
Mathrin Simmers, who captained the team in Ghana, said they needed a confidence boost after losing their spot in the HSBC SVNS Series for the new season.
“That was a blow, but the fact that we could come here and showed everyone that we are still the champions of Africa was good for our confidence,” said Simmers.
“It also secured our spot for the Challenger Series, so from that perspective, we achieved our goals for the weekend and that is very pleasing for the squad.”
Simmers said their effort against a very capable Kenyan side in the final was commendable: “We did ourselves no favours with the two yellow cards. Kenya is tough enough to play with full numbers and to play them with only six players at times was a tough ask, but we showed great character and endurance. Our defense when we were a player down showed the determination of this squad.”
For the experienced Simmers, a seventh Africa Cup gold medal is still something to cherish.
“Yes, it remains special to win here, and it still means the same as the first time I have won,” she said. “This tournament is a tough one and every win is a special one. We dug deep and deserved this gold medal, so I am very proud today.”
