Few people who watched the Springbok Women and their remarkable victory over Italy at the Women’s Rugby World Cup in York on Sunday would not have been touched by the South Africans’ raw emotions at the final whistle.
The Bok Women made history with a number of firsts: qualifying for the RWC quarter-finals, beating Italy, and breaking into the top ten on the World Rugby rankings.
As those emotions played out over TV screens around the globe, few would have missed the moment where SA flyhalf Libbie Janse van Rensburg embraced longstanding team captain Nolusindiso Booi, saying, “we did this, we did this”.
On Tuesday, Janse van Rensburg said the emotions of relief, gratitude, pride and joy are still lingering around the team, but there is also a growing desire for determination as they gear up for their final Pool D match against France, on Sunday at Franklin's Gardens in Northampton.
Both teams have already qualified for the playoffs with victories over Brazil and Italy, and will now fight it out for pool honours.
“Yes, we are still feeling very good about ourselves, but suddenly there is that added feeling of us going ever further,” a determined Janse van Rensburg said as the team completed their post-match reviews following the trek back from York on Monday.
“We desperately wanted to make it into the top eight, and now that we have, we want more. That game against Italy, as important as it was, was not our final act. We want more, and we are not done yet.”
They trained against France earlier in the season while on tour in Europe, and the SA fly-half said that was an eye-opener.
“We realised we were not far off during that session, and it’s amazing how things changed around so sudden for us,” she said.
“We were always knocking, and now the door has been opened. The talk in the camp is that we can now get past the last eight and into the semi-finals, and I honestly don’t think it is a pipe dream.”
Janse van Rensburg did her part on Sunday, winning the Player of the Match award, but said that was the last thing she was expecting or aimed for.
“Our team doctor and physio on the side of the field were encouraging me all the time, telling me stay in the game as I am doing well,” said the playmaker.
“I was getting really tired at that time but kept going, and I am so happy that I did. So many players worked so hard to get to this point and we were the fortunate ones to be on the field when history happened.”
Janse van Rensburg pointed to some of the reasons why the team is performing so well: “We had a poor World Cup last time, but that team was too inexperienced and the environment was not great.
“This time we all know what we can do, we believe in each other and our coaches and management really created a positive environment for us. The players also get along well, and it all delivers a happy camp.
“To add to that, the support from sponsors and the public alike has been amazing. We really feel like we belong, and we now want to reward those who invested in us.”
The Springbok Women's team to play France will be named on Friday.