- Springbok women’s coach Stanley Raubenheimer says his side can take some positives despite suffering a Women’s Rugby World Cup opener defeat against France.
- South Africa lost 40-5 in their Pool C clash against the French at Eden Park.
- Hooker Lindelwa Gwala admits mistakes held South Africa back and that they will learn from this loss.
Springbok women’s coach Stanley Raubenheimer was not despondent following South Africa’s opening loss against France at the Women’s Rugby World Cup in New Zealand on Saturday.
France sealed a 40-5 win over South Africa in the tournament’s opening match at Eden Park.
Raubenheimer took positives out of the French loss and hailed his side for dominating extended periods of time.
“I cannot fault our team for effort. The big difference was the experience between the two sides, one playing year in and year out in the Six Nations, and the other on their way back after a couple of years in the wilderness,” said Raubenheimer.
“France deserved the win and congratulations to them, but I am pleased with the way we played in stages. We allowed them too many soft opportunities and that was frustrating.
“We again started poorly and conceded early points. Our finishing was also not the best, with a number of opportunities going astray. The intercept try also did not help at all.”
Springbok hooker Lindelwa Gwala insists that “small mistakes” held the team back and hopes that they’ll gain confidence from this performance, despite the score.
“We stood up to France today and, at times, dominated them. A year ago, when we played in Vannes, we could not do that, so there is no doubt in my mind that we have improved tremendously since then,” said Gwala.
“Today, at times, we were really on the front foot against one of the top packs in the game and that is a good boost for our confidence.
“That is costing us, we are making small mistakes that result in big plays for the opponents. We need to cut that out because it is holding us back from being amongst the best teams,” she continued.
“We have the team, I am convinced that we can compete against any team any day, but to eliminate the small areas of uncertainty and error will take time. The more we play, the more experience we will gain and the more we will eliminate the mistakes.”
England and France romped to big wins, while hosts New Zealand survived a mighty scare in front of a record crowd on the opening day.
Tournament hot favourites England crushed Fiji 84-19 at Eden Park in Auckland. Then a world-record crowd for a women’s rugby match of 40 000 saw the final match of a triple-header as holders New Zealand fought back from 17-0 down against Australia to prevail 41-17.
Springboks forwards coach Eddie Myners felt that his pack’s scrumming and lineout created good pressure and showed that the Bok Women can stand their ground against any pack.
“It was a bit of sweet and sour – we really did well at times, but also poor at other times,” said Myners.
“How we messed up the very first kick-off and conceded points almost immediately is a good example of us just giving momentum and tries away.
“Our maul was great, though and I thought we would be rewarded when we had three strong drives at the line, but that did not happen on this occasion. Overall though, it was a sound performance and we are keen to regroup and get ready for Fiji next weekend.”
The Springbok Women’s next Pool C game is against Fiji next Sunday morning.
Kick-off is at 06:45 (SA time).
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