The Springbok Women's Sevens ‘A’ side will return from Dubai on Monday more mature, more experienced and with their coach Cecil Afrika, a happy man.
The Springbok Women’s Sevens confirmed their standing as the best team on the continent after they outplayed hosts and main contenders, Kenya, in the Rugby Africa Women’s Sevens Cup final in Nairobi on Sunday, and according to coach Cecil Afrika, it was a great team effort that brought them success.
The journey to redemption for the Springbok Women's Sevens team starts at the RFUEA Grounds in Nairobi on Saturday and Sunday at the 2025 Rugby Africa Women’s Sevens Cup and for team captain, Nadine Roos, the options are simple.
A daunting challenge awaits the Springbok Women’s Sevens team in the Rugby Africa Women’s Sevens Cup in Kenya this weekend, but upon their departure to Nairobi, coach Cecil Afrika was at ease due to the mood and mindset of the departing squad.
SA Rugby Women’s Player of the Year, Nadine Roos, is amongst the group of 18 players invited to a Springbok Women’s Sevens training camp in Pretoria, where the squad will step-up preparations for the Rugby Africa Women’s Sevens championship in Nairobi, Kenya on 15 and 16 November.
SA Rugby President Mr Mark Alexander and Springbok Women’s Sevens head coach Renfred Dazel praised the contribution of Mathrin Simmers, South Africa’s most experienced women’s sevens player, after she decided to hang up her boots.
The Springbok Women’s Sevens’ inability to remain composed in pressure moments proved to be their biggest drawback in a season where they claimed two tournament titles and scored some impressive wins.
Having grown up in the Border region, shared change rooms at Western Province and the Bulls Daisies, as well as with the Springbok Women at the Rugby World Cup and the Springbok Women’s Sevens, one can almost expect Zintle Mpupha and Simamkele Namba to complete each other's sentences.
The 2025 season has been a bit of a blur for Alicia Willemse thus far, but on Saturday in Los Angeles at the HSBC SVNS Play-off, the 27-year-old playmaker will strive to be at her brightest and clearest of minds.
Springbok Women's Sevens captain Mathrin Simmers heaped praised on her team after they closed out the last of three World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger tournaments, in Krakow, Poland, with their first victory in the trio of events.