The first Springbok Women's camp of the 2022 season, which will culminate in the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand in October, concluded on Friday with a beach activation and mountain run at Muizenberg and St. James, something captain Nolusindiso Booi feels was a strong finish to their week-long effort.
The squad participated in mountain trail runs in Stellenbosch, played touch rugby on the beach in Strand and went about the Surfer's Corner in Muizenberg and scenic roundabout in a number of runs alongside the steep stepways along the St. James mountain side.
There were on-field sessions at the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport rugby field as well, and for Booi this was a good start to the important year.
“It was a tough week of conditioning for us, no doubt, but the variety of those sessions made it more fun than we expected. We ran on the beach and in the hills, did an obstacle course, and finished off today with those stepways up the mountain. All of this really pushed us to the limit and it made us realise we can do anything if we set our minds to it. If you believe and you push hard, you can,” said Booi.
Their November 2021 series in France, Wales and England was a good reminder to the squad of what the team effort on the field can deliver, and Booi said they will approach 2022 in a more focused mindset.
“The World Cup is this year and our focus will sharpen towards that,” said Booi. “We picked up good insights from the camp and we’ll take that back home and use it to improve our effort towards the end goal later this year in New Zealand.”
For Rumandi Potgieter, who made her debut in national colours in England in November, the camp proved the worth of team work.
“It was tough week where we were tested in various ways and even the weather conditions were against us,” Potgieter said.
“We learned a lot about each other in those tough sessions and realised that team work does make any job easier. The fact that we are in the same calendar year as the World Cup makes it very real, and it has become the main driving force for the squad in everything we do for the rest of the year,” the scrumhalf explained.
Most of the squad will return to their provincial unions, but the front row players and locks in the squad will have a two-day session on Saturday and Sunday where they will be assisted by Springbok scrum coach, Daan Human, in a number of additional training sessions.
The next camp assembly is on March 16.