Mkhari hopeful Springbok Women Sevens can Rights their wrongs in second Challenger event

The experienced Rights Mkhari says that the “mental doubts have disappeared” after she made a strong contribution to the Springbok Women Sevens team last weekend.

The ‘Blazeboks’ ended in third position in the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger event at the Athlone Stadium in Cape Town, and will hope to go two steps further in the second tournament at the same venue on Friday and Saturday.

They lost to eventual champions Kenya 19-15 in the semi-finals, but managed to beat Colombia 29-0 in the bronze-medal decider on Sunday.

Mkhari returned to the side after a two-year absence, and after playing off the bench initially, she was quickly into her stride.

“It is a good feeling being back and contributing to the team,” Mkhari said in a SA Rugby statement on Tuesday after practice at the University of Cape Town (UCT) rugby ground.

“It was a long time away from the game and the injuries were frustrating, as I wanted to get back onto the field to assist my team.

“I love nothing more than contributing in a team environment, especially with this team who work so hard to be successful.

“It went as well as I had hoped. I ticked the boxes I wanted to. And having come through the four games still feeling strong and wanting more, the mental doubts also disappeared.

“I love scoring tries and although that did not happen, I am not too fussed. We are a process driven team and if we stick to that, the ball will find me for that opportunity this weekend.”

The Bok Women Sevens side will face Poland and Samoa in Pool C in the second Challenge tournament on Friday and Saturday, and coach Renfred Dazel will be banking on his players to go all the way this time around and clinch the title.

“The focus is here and now, and how we are going to cut out the mistakes that cost us last weekend,” Mkhari said.

“We are playing against Samoa and Poland, two very physical teams, in our pool. They would have studied our weaknesses against Kenya, where we did not defend well enough and paid the price.

“The realities of the second tournament will be that all the teams have footage on their opponents, and will analyse where the weaknesses are.

“We had our reviews, and we could see from that feedback why and where we can up short, but also where we executed and played well.

“Today on the field, we fixed those, and it was a good session with regards to that.

“We have another session with on Thursday where we will fine-tune our prep, but I am very optimistic about the weekend.”

World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger Draw

Pool A: Kenya, Uganda, Belgium

Pool B: Argentina, Czechia, Hong Kong China

Pool C: South Africa, Poland, Samoa

Pool D: Colombia, Thailand, Mexico