Eighteen of the country’s most promising women’s players assembled at the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport on Thursday for a three-day sevens development camp, where the Springbok Women’s Sevens management will get a close-up view of their potential skills and abilities.
Fitness and agility testing will be done to get a baseline of where the players are at and according to SA Rugby’s High-Performance Manager for Women’s Rugby, Lynne Cantwell, the camp will also give them a good look at the depth available to the national team.
“We are planning to host two or three more in the next six months, with the purpose to gauge our depth in the sevens ranks, as there are no regular sevens competitions where players can be evaluated,” said Cantwell.
“It is important for us to get eyes on sevens talent coming through the pipeline and this camp will be a first step towards that.”
Cantwell said good collaboration with the various Youth Training Centres and players scouted at the Hermanus Sevens tournament earlier this year helped in identifying the group invited to Stellenbosch, where amongst others, Springbok Women’s Sevens stalwarts Eloise Webb and Liske Lategan will also assist in some sessions.
“The purpose is to get our eyes on all available talent and see how we can further develop them from our perspective with regards to skills and strength and conditioning,” added Cantwell.
“Best practice has shown us that a player needs around 18 months of preparation before they can play internationally, so this will help us to manage that as well.”
Training squad: Delsy Mkansi, Tshepiso Lesudi (both Limpopo Blue Bulls), Maria Tshiremba (Bulls Daisies), Bianca Augustyn, Anelisiwe Mxabo, Anja le Roux, Ankia Viljoen, Elitha Sylvester, Leigh Fortuin (all DHL Western Province), Doney Filies (Boland Dames), Amanda Klassen, Antonecia Hannies, Chante Jonck (all SWD Eagirls), Mardiya Usman (Mastercard Golden Lions), Celine May, Johnerecia Booysen, Ruzanne George, Sisonke Hawu (all EP Queens).