Springbok Women’s Sevens one win away from Dubai final and SVNS 2 qualification

The Springbok Women’s Sevens is just one victory away from reaching its HSBC SVNS 3 objective in Dubai after winning all three of its Pool A matches on Saturday, delivering a commanding display of attacking rugby.

The team will face Poland at 09:28 (SA time) in the semi-final. A victory over the Europeans would secure not only a place in the final but also qualification for the HSBC SVNS 2, to be played within the next three months.

A CLEAN SWEEP IN POOL A
The three victories—over Mexico, Czechia, and Thailand—were achieved in impressive fashion, with the South African side’s pace out wide proving to be a decisive advantage.

Match Results:

South Africa 61–0 Mexico

South Africa 24–5 Czechia

South Africa 33–5 Thailand

STANDOUT PERFORMERS
Maria Tshiremba laid down a marker in the opening match against Mexico, using her exceptional pace to dot down three times before the halftime break and adding a fourth early in the second half.

The clinical performance was supported by fellow speedsters Nadine Roos, Ayanda Malinga, and Patience Mokone, who consistently breached the defence. Mokone, who replaced Tshiremba in the opening game, added two tries of her own as the South Africans romped away against a Mexican side that had no answer for the multi-faceted attack.

OVERCOMING CHALLENGES
The match against Czechia began strongly with Roos and Shiniqwa Lamprecht scoring well-worked tries. However, the team briefly lost focus when Asisipho Plaatjies was yellow-carded. The Eastern European side capitalised on the player advantage to score just before the interval. While the second half remained tight, a strong effort by Tshiremba eventually opened up the winning margin.

In their final pool match, the South Africans conceded first against Thailand when Laksina Nawakaew sold a dummy to score the opening try. The response, however, was swift; Leigh Fortuin scored from the restart, sprinting 80 meters to dot down.

Vianca Boer and Zintle Mpupha added second-half tries to secure the third consecutive win for the side.