The Springbok Women's Sevens claimed third place in the first leg of the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger 2025 at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town on Sunday, and although SA coach Renfred Dazel was satisfied with bronze, he lamented a three-minute lapse in concentration that cost them dearly against Kenya.
The South Africans beat Colombia 29-0 in the bronze match, but it was a bittersweet result for the Bok Women, who lost 19-15 to Kenya in their semi-final earlier on Sunday, even though the victory over the South Americans will see them in third place on the log heading into next weekend’s second tournament at the same venue.
“The Challenger Series is not a sprint, rather a marathon, so you have three tournaments to make sure you are in the top four,” said Dazel.
“Starting off in third place after the first tournament is not what we came here for, but it’s also not the end of the world. We are in the top four and if we recover well this week, we will have have another opportunity to improve that standing next weekend.”
The Bok Women were quick out of the blocks in their all-African semi-final. Some crisp passing opened up the Kenyan defence and Nadine Roos and Maria Tshiremba scored to put South Africa 10-0 up.
The good interplay boded well for the team in green and gold, but the turning point in the match came soon after. Despite having one player in the sin bin and another down injured, Kenya broke through to score under the posts. They converted, won the ball back from the restart and scored again and suddenly, they were leading 14-10 at the break.
Things went from bad to worse for South Africa when Kenya scored a third try with two minutes left to open a nine-point lead.
Some reinforcements off the bench elevated the home side's effort, with Zintle Mpupha and Rights Mkhari making a good impact, but a yellow card to Tshiremba left her team scrambling again. Roos scored a second with the buzzer in the background, leaving South Africa out of time for another try and out of a place in the final.
Dazel said the lapse against Kenya was unfortunate: “We started so well, but then a couple of missed tackles allowed them to break out and suddenly we were chasing the game. Credit to the players though, as they came back firing against Colombia.”
Roos was the star of the show against the Colombians. She scored in the opening spell and converted for a 7-0 lead, while Tshiremba extended the lead to 12-0 just before the break.
Roos also scored first in the second half as the South Africans took full control of the match. Ayanda Malinga added to the scoresheet before Kayla Swarts made memories on her debut when she danced around her opponent to score her first international try.
Dazel also praised the efforts of the two debutants, Swarts and Alicia Willemse, who started at flyhalf in both matches.
“Both got good minutes in,” said Dazel. “I am happy that Kayla managed to score, while Alicia played well too.
“We will look at our injury situation before we finalise the squad for next weekend. Leigh Fortuin picked up a knee strain and we will know in the morning how bad that is. That will determine if we will bring another player into the squad for next weekend.”
SA scorers:
South Africa 15 (10), Kenya 19 (14)
SA – Tries: Nadine Roos (2), Maria Tshiremba.
South Africa 29 (12), Colombia 0 (0)
SA – Tries: Nadine Roos (2), Maria Tshiremba, Ayanda Malinga, Kayla Swarts. Conversions: Nadine Roos (2).
