Springbok women’s confidence grows ahead of World Cup warm-up matches

The Springbok Women’s team are showing growing confidence and belief as they prepare for next month’s Rugby World Cup in England. The squad, currently in Cape Town, is gearing up for two crucial warm-up matches against the formidable Black Ferns XV at Athlone Stadium over the next two Saturdays.

According to veteran scrumhalf Tayla Kinsey, the team is building a solid foundation in preparation for their World Cup pool clashes against Brazil, Italy, and France. Kinsey, who has earned 40 caps, believes the squad's recent performances, especially during their two-match series against Canada, have strengthened their belief that they can compete at the highest level.

“We needed the two Tests against Canada; it was a reality check in part but also a confidence booster, especially in the second match where we could apply the lessons learnt from the first encounter,” Kinsey said following a training session at the University of Cape Town on Monday morning.

She added that the narrow margins in those games gave the squad a sense of how close they are to the top-tier nations.

“We really saw that we are not that far behind the top teams, and that did a lot for our belief going into the World Cup. The next two games will also be a learning opportunity for us, as the depth of New Zealand, being world champions, is such that the Black Ferns XV will also be a very tough opponent,” Kinsey said.

The Black Ferns XV are expected to provide stern competition, featuring eight capped Black Ferns players and three more who have represented the New Zealand national sevens team. Kinsey sees this as the perfect opportunity to test their strength and game plan under pressure.

“The coaches are really doing a great job in getting us battle-ready and fine-tuning our strengths. We saw that when we play as a team, we can be unstoppable, even against a top side like Canada,” she said. “That self-belief is growing every day, and we do have the luxury of testing that against the New Zealand side, who are also going to put up a massive fight. So, it is exciting times for all.”

The upcoming games at Athlone Stadium are significant for the team, with the venue now seen as an unofficial home base. “We played both WXV 2 tournaments at Athlone, and that resulted in us getting a regular crowd of people coming to watch our games. We hope they will all be out there again on the weekend and, even better, bring a plus one along. That will be awesome to have a good crowd supporting us,” Kinsey said.

In a further boost to the squad, South Africa's most capped hooker, Lindelwa Gwala, has returned to the team. Gwala missed the series against Canada but is back in the mix for the clashes against the Black Ferns XV.

Springbok Women's performance coach Swys de Bruin will announce the match-day squad on Thursday. Saturday’s match is scheduled to kick off at 17:00, with tickets available through Quicket.