There were smiles all around the Springbok Women's change room at HFC Bank Stadium in Suva on Saturday as they earned a well-deserved victory over Fijiana XV in the first of two Test matches, with the second clash next Saturday in Lautoka.
Both Bok Women assistant coach Laurian Johannes-Haupt and Libbie Janse van Rensburg, who made her debut as captain, were ecstatic after the 55-12 victory and applauded the South Africans’ team effort.
Johannes-Haupt was most pleased about the variety of their tries and mentioned the successful integration of those players who came back into the team after playing on the HSBC SVNS circuit.
One of those, Shiniqwa Lamprecht, made her Test debut for South Africa and became cap #194 for the Bok Women.
“We did not rely on only one component of our game; we had weapons all around, and that was pleasing as it points to a good team effort,” said Johannes-Haupt.
“The integration of our sevens ladies really impressed me; it worked well, and they really stood up to the task today.
“What was also pleasing was the freedom they played with and how they expressed themselves on the field. We had the set-piece as a source, but often, after that, the girls played what was in front of them, and that is exactly what we want them to do.”
She said the coaches' box was a happy place on Saturday: “The other pleasing aspect for us as coaches was that those things we put in place for this game worked out. Now we start again for next week's clash in Lautoka.”
Janse van Rensburg earned two milestones on Saturday and was also smiling afterwards. She extended her national Test points record to 221 (14 tries, 56 conversions, 12 penalty goals, 1 drop goal) and became the 12th Springbok Women captain since 2004, when they played their first Test.
She said the team wanted their core strengths to work for them and it did: “We are a happy change room right now. We wanted to start strong in this first Test match and achieved that.
“We really did well in our first phase play, and it worked well; our scrums, lineouts and mauls functioned very well and laid the foundation for the win.
“Our breakdowns did not always yield the fast ball we wanted, but that came right in the second half, and it showed in the final score.”
Janse van Rensburg said they have work-ons before they meet Fiji again next weekend: “We focused a lot on the breakdown leading up to this match, and that will continue; we are not as smooth yet as we want to be. I also think we can be more direct in the backs as well; we took it out wide today, but still have the option of more direct play, which will also suit our style.”
The Bok Women will depart for Nandi on Sunday morning, where they will be based next week in preparation for the second Test.