There is a cold snap in the air in Krakow – and with eight becoming the chosen four at the end of the final World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger tournament this weekend and also some desperation for some of the teams who converged on the Polish city since Monday.
For the Springbok Women’s Sevens squad, though, there is a clear view of what needs to be achieved at the Henryk Reyman's Municipal Stadium on Friday and Saturday and how to reach those planned objectives, according to Mathrin Simmers.
“We have a clear understanding of what we want to get out of this tournament and what is needed to get where we want to be,” said Simmers, the team’s captain, before their pool games against Poland, Czechia and Argentina.
“We need a top-four finish, which will guarantee entry into the HSBC SVNS qualification tournament in Los Angeles in May.
“Our reviews after the two tournaments in Cape Town painted a positive picture, but also valuable lessons, which we took to heart. On those two weekends, we repeated the same error in the two matches we lost, and that was not to use and treasure possession. That resulted in us in having to defend for long periods and in the end, conceding tries that cost us the game.
“We worked on that and have our game plan ready for Poland, Czechia and Argentina on Friday. We have played and beaten both European sides in Cape Town, but that was then, and this is now.
“We will face Poland at home in front of a good crowd, and they will not only be fired up, but desperate as well. Both of our European opponents still have an outside chance to finish in the top four, and this is their final opportunity to do so. We need to be ready.”
The local conditions and knowledge of the playing surface will also help the hosts and the neighbouring Czech side, but Simmers said they adapted well to the cold since arriving from a much warmer Stellenbosch.
“We had a really good session here and coach Renfred (Dazel) even joked that we need to move to a colder home base as it seemed that the snappy weather improved our session,” Simmers smiled.
They will be ready for all challenges, South Africa’s most capped women’s sevens player confirmed: “We have enough experience to weather the big moments and the two debutants have slotted in very nicely.
“Vianca (Boer) has been with us at Stellenbosch for a couple of months now and will do well in her debut, while Patience (Mokone) impressed us all with her ability to switch codes. She has really adapted well and I can’t wait to see her perform on the weekend.
“We are in a good position coming into the tournament, but that means nothing if we don’t rock up on day one with a solid showing against Poland and that will be our main focus heading to the tournament tomorrow.”
Standings (top eight):
1 Kenya – 40 points
2 South Africa – 34
3 Argentina – 30
4 Colombia – 30
5 Thailand – 22
6 Czechia – 22
7 Poland – 16
8 Uganda – 14
Pools:
A: Belgium, Colombia, Kenya, Thailand
B: Argentina, Czechia, Poland, South Africa
SA pool fixtures (all matches live on RugbyPass.tv)
Friday, 11 April
11h34: Poland
15h04: Czechia
18h12: Argentina
The Springbok Women’s Sevens squad:
- Rights Mkhari
- Zandile Masuku
- Kemisetso Baloyi
- Kyla de Vries
- Zintle Mpupha
- Shiniqwa Lamprecht
- Mathrin Simmers (captain)
- Vianca Boer *
- Nadine Roos
- Ayanda Malinga
- Maria Tshiremba
- Patience Mokone *