All eyes will be on Bloemfontein on Saturday when the Free State Women take on the defending champions, the SWD Eagirls, in the Women’s First Division final at the Toyota Stadium.
Springbok hooker Bongi Mbonambi will captain the national team for first time on Saturday when he leads a new-look combination against Argentina in Buenos Aires in the first of three Rugby World Cup warm-up games. The team shows 13 changes to the starting line-up, while the 23 includes talented prop Gerhard Steenekamp, who could make his Springbok debut.
The SWD Eagirls will defend their Women’s First Division title against the Free State Women in Bloemfontein on Saturday, as DHL Western Province and the Cell C Sharks scored significant victories in the Women’s Premier Division, while the Bulls Daisies again secured a full house of points to remain the only undefeated team in the competition.
Springbok captain Duane Vermeulen and assistant coach Mzwandile Stick stressed the importance of closing off the home leg of their 2023 season on a high note before the team enters their Rugby World Cup warm-up games and said a victory would be special for many reasons.
The weekend’s Women’s Premier Division action will see mouth-watering clashes in Ceres, Cape Town and Durban on Saturday, while in the top four sides will meet in Bloemfontein and George in the First Division semi-finals.
A large group of players – including seven who are uncapped at senior international level – will assemble in Stellenbosch from Friday as Springbok Women interim head coach Louis Koen gets the ball rolling for their WXV preparation with an alignment camp at the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport.
Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber said his team were aligned and refocussed in anticipation of their final Castle Lager Rugby Championship Test against the Pumas in Johannesburg on Saturday, 29 July, following a thorough debrief of the match against New Zealand and a handful of training sessions in Pretoria in the last two days.
The South African U18 team will face their age-group counterparts from France and England in Durbanville and Paarl near Cape Town when the annual U18 International Series kicks off next month.
The Women’s Premier Division resumes on Saturday after a short break and all three encounters will be crucial for the teams involved, with the race to the final spot in the semi-finals becoming more contested as the sides reach the business end of the competition.
SA Rugby’s Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus and Junior Springbok head coach Bafana Nhleko reacted enthusiastically to the announcement made by SANZAAR that a new U20 Rugby Championship will kick off in 2024.