Renfred Dazel, acting coach of the Springbok Women's Sevens team, saw some encouraging signs from his team as the second day of the HSBC Cape Town Sevens looms large, with their final Pool A match against Spain in their sights.
The South Africans faced two tough opponents on the opening day in Rugby World Cup Sevens and current HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series champions Australia, as well as the experienced Ireland, and despite trying hard, came up short in both their pool matches.
Australia won 52-0 in the opening game, while Ireland beat the Bok Women’s Sevens by 24-0 – full match wraps with scorers are available here.
“We did some good things in both games and that is encouraging for tomorrow's match against Spain,” said Dazel after the clash against Ireland.
“We managed to put both those sides under pressure in the opening minutes of each game, but then we fell away as they lifted the intensity, and we battled to counter that.
“It was not unexpected though, as Australia are the top team in the world and Ireland compete in the top tier as well, so I am not too despondent after the first day.”
South Africa did beat Spain in Toulouse in May, but Dazel said that is not relevant.
“It might give some of the players who played in that game confidence, but that is all,” he said. “We need to do the basics well and try to control the tempo of the game a bit better. We struggled to do that today.”
Springbok Women's Sevens captain Nadine Roos also reflected in the positives they took from the two defeats.
“We managed to create good opportunities, but we did not take any of them and that was a bit disappointing,” said Roos.
“But the fact remains that we did create opportunities against teams that are in the top tier, so we need to finish those tomorrow if we want to have a better day two.”
Roos scored 16 points against Spain the last time they played in Toulouse, with her side winning 21-19, but she is also not expecting the same result without real effort: “We did well that day, but this is a different challenge. I am sure the bigger crowd we will see tomorrow will be a boost for us, playing in front of this passionate crowd lifts our effort by at least 20%.
“So, I hope the fans are in tomorrow morning and in full voice. We are going to need their support.”
