Brazil Women A secured a dominant 34-12 victory over South Africa Women A on Monday night at the Estádio Nicolau Alayon in São Paulo. While the visitors suffered a tough defeat, the physical encounter provided a young South African side with valuable experience and crucial developmental lessons against clinical international opposition.
Brazil's expansive attack ultimately proved too sharp, crossing the whitewash six times to outpace a resilient first-half effort from the South Africans.
The hosts wasted no time asserting themselves on their home turf. Just three minutes into the encounter, Luiza Campos breached the South African defensive line to open the scoring. While Lohana Valente missed the opening conversion, Brazil had laid down an early marker.
South Africa hit back immediately with an aggressive counter-punch. In the 7th minute, Emihle Mayitshe powered over the line to level the scores, and a successful conversion from flyhalf Mary Zulu briefly gave the visitors a 7-5 lead.
The advantage was short-lived. Brazil’s Mariana Moreira reclaimed the lead for the hosts in the 13th minute, with Valente adding the extra two points. South Africa refused to back down early on, striking back just two minutes later through winger Hayley Hardneck. Zulu's missed conversion kept the scoreline tight at 12-12, signalling a frantic opening quarter.
However, Brazil's clinical edge began to dictate the tempo. Lohana Valente turned from playmaker to try-scorer in the 23rd minute, converting her own score to build a seven-point buffer. Just before the interval, Larissa Carvalho extended the gap to 24-12 at halftime, leaving the South Africans with a mountain to climb.
The second period turned into a grinding defensive battle as South Africa tightened up their structures. Despite a more organised defensive display from the visitors, Brazil's patience paid off. Thalita Costa struck in the 50th minute, exploiting a gap to push the game out of reach.
As legs grew heavy in the final quarter, Julia Leni Lima put the final exclamation mark on a stellar evening for Brazilian rugby with a 67th-minute try. South Africa fought valiantly until the final whistle but was unable to break through the stubborn Brazilian defence in the second half, leaving the final score at 34-12.
Scorers:
Brazil: Tries: Luiza Campos, Mariana Moreira, Lohana Valente, Larissa Carvalho, Thalita Costa, Julia Leni. Conversions: Lohana Valente (2).
SA Women ‘A’: Tries: Emihle Mayitshe, Hayley Hardneck. Conversion: Mary Zulu.
Teams:
Brazil: 1 Samara Vergara, 2 Julia Leni Lima, 4 Eshyllen Coimbra, 5 Mercelle Souza, 6 Larissa Carvalho, 7 Marina Fioravanti, 8 Mariana Moreira, 9 Luiza Campos, 10 Gisele Gomes, 11 Thalita Costa, 12 Rafaela Zanellato, 13 Carolyne Katrine Pereira, 14 Giovanna Barth, 15 Lohana Valente. Replacements: 16 Patricia Lima, 17 Juliana Silva, 19 Alessandra Costa, 20 Milena Mariano, 21 Dayana Dakar, 22 Fernanda Tenorio, 23 Raquel Kochhann.
South African Women A: 1 Anuschka Ekron, 2 Luchell Hanekom, 4 Zeze Gcaza, 5 Abigail Smit, 6 Yanelisa Plaatjie, 7 Avela Gwala, 8 Emihle Mayitshe, 9 Insaaf Levy, 10 Mary Zulu, 11 Lithalethu Nombakuse, 12 Lilitha Vakalisa, 13 Shaunique Alexander, 14 Thobile Msizazwe, 15 Hayley Hardneck. Replacements: 16 Karabo Lebotsa, 17 Iviwe Jonas, 18 Anothando Khatshwa, 19 Kaylee Daniels, 20 Courtney Hickson, 21 Camelitha Malone, 22 Isabella Nel, 23 Anita Fazi.