Springbok Women show improvement despite defeat to Canada

The Springbok Women put on a more disciplined display despite losing 33-5 against Canada in the second Test at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha on Saturday afternoon.

The match was a vast improvement for the Boks on last weekend’s 50-20 loss to the world’s No 2 team at Loftus in Pretoria.

The Springbok Women struggled at the breakdown area in that Test, conceding eight penalties, as well as in the scrums and line-outs. They were determined to make amends on Saturday.

Coach Swys de Bruin and his management team will have been delighted with the lower penalty count as well as the improvement in the set-pieces by the Bok Women, though they were far from they dominant best. They were also more disciplined at the breakdown.

Nadine Roos, who had started at scrumhalf, had a productive match overall, her feeds snappy as she laid the platform for those outside her and orchestrated a number of line breaks. The Bok Women kept the ball tight in the first half, however, with Canada's rush defence choking supply to the wings.

But it was utility back Byrhandrè Dolf, who was drafted into the fullback position off the bench, who was the backline standout for the Bok Women. She was impressive on attack and in defence, showing an ability to read the game and run from anywhere on the field.

The North Americans drew first blood in the fourth minute with a try by Brittany Kassil that Julia Schell converted (7-0).

SA won a scrum penalty after prop Sanelisiwe Charlie put in a good hit. The Boks were building  phases off the lineout and won a penalty in midfield. But niggling errors were disrupting their attacking play.

Canada, by comparison, were struggling at the breakdown.

The  Bok Women were handed the ideal opportunity to finally get on the scoreboard when the Canadians were reduced to 13 players in the first half. But they were let down by a combination of poor decision-making and niggling errors at crucial times.

They also failed to bring their exciting wingers into play as they lined up flat on attack, leaving little room for strike runners to exploit.

The score was still 7-0 after 30 minutes of play with Canada back to 14 players and pressing. Gillian Boag scored their second try and they went into the half-time break 14-0 up.

The Bok Women seemed determined to give the ball more air in the second half. No 8 Aseza Hele enjoyed a storming start to the stanza as they marched the ball up field. Roos was noticeably upping the tempo of play for the South Africans.

A quick tap penalty close to the Canada try line sucked in their defence and flyer Ayanda Malinga dotted down in the left corner four minutes into the second half. Goal-kicker Jakkie Cilliers missed the conversion attempt, however.

Dolf had to be alert to snuff out the danger during a strong break by Canada, but was lucky that a charged down kick didn’t prove more costly a few minutes later.

But Canada eventually got their third try 14 minutes into the second half, via Carissa Norsten.

The game became a bit loose with the Bok Women trailing 19-5, and centre Libbie Janse van Rensburg was unlucky to lose the ball in the tackle outside the Canada 22 with options on both sides of her.

A brilliant pop pass in midfield by replacement Chumisa Qawe freed up Cilliers to cut in and she charged towards the line, but an infringement at the breakdown brought a promising passage of play to an end.

The score remained unchanged at 19-5 with 15 minutes left to play but the Bok Women were still in the contest and enjoying the lion’s share of possession. They continued to pay the price for silly mistakes, however, which relieved the pressure on the Canadians.

When Cilliers was sin-binned for a deliberate knock-on in the final 10 minutes their task became even more difficult. A lineout rolling maul led to a Tyson Beukeboom try for the visitors. A Krissy Scurfield break down the wing took the final score to 33-5. Maddy Grant landed both conversions.

Scorers:
Springbok Women 5 (0) – Try: Malinga.
Canada 33 (14) – Tries: Kassil, Boag, Norsten, Beukeboom, Scurfield. Conversions: Schell (2), Grant (2).