De Bruin's RWC strategy taking SA to new heights says star fullback

EXCLUSIVE: This year is like no other for the Springbok Women’s squad.

While the team is not new to the World Cup scene, it is the first time that they are heading to the showpiece regarded as a force on the rise.

In the past, the South African women’s team was simply there to make up the numbers.

They’ve never qualified beyond the pool stage of a World Cup and have a mere three wins and 15 defeats from their four appearances along with a points difference of -590.

There is no denying that there is still a lot of progress to be made. They are currently ranked 12th on World Rugby’s charts and have never climbed higher than 10th and haven’t done so since 2011.

However, since the introduction of Swys De Bruin as high performance coach in August there has been a certain sense of optimism.

De Bruin along with his assistant coaches Laurian Johannes-Haupt, Franzel September and Bafana Nhleko have been taking the ladies through their paces with vigorous alignment camps.

Currently, the team has assembled for a week-long training camp at the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport, a fourth one for this year before rejoining their franchises and resuming the Women’s Premier Division.

One player who has been putting in a lot of hard work during the camps is Springbok Women fullback Libbie Janse van Rensburg.

It runs in the family, they say!!
The @WomenBoks 7s squad for the @SVNSSeries Challenger in Cape Town! #rugby #news #sports #WomenInRugby #WomensRugby #WomenInSports #WomensSportshttps://t.co/Jg1mCS7rFw

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After returning from a patella tendon of her right knee, Janse van Rensburg has been in great form. She recently captained the Bulls Daisies to a 69-5 win over the Sharks, scoring a brace, before getting a call-up to the national camp.

Speaking to Rugby365, Janse van Rensburg said she is enjoying the challenges of the new Springbok Women schedule.

“It’s a bit different in the sense that we are used to being in training camps for longer periods of time, but I am enjoying the in-and-out of the camps,” Janse van Rensburg told Rugby365.

“It’s an adjustment for us having to switch from our provinces the whole time but we know what we need to do if we want to achieve the goals that we have set for ourselves this year.

“I’ve been enjoying the new challenges and excited to see what lies ahead for us.”

She added: “We have seen exceptional growth in our team over the last few years, naturally so as the majority of our ladies have now been together since the last World Cup so that is definitely beneficial to us.

“We just want to keep growing and keep going from strength to strength, be it skills, fitness, game knowledge our team is striving for growth in all areas.”

Janse van Rensburg, who made history last year when she became the first Bok Women player to score 200 international points, said she still needs to work hard to book a ticket to the UK.

“I think I have shown growth with each camp thus far, the new coaches are expecting different things from me now, so I am trying my best to implement these and adapt to becoming the best version of myself for the team.

“I have to earn my place in the World Cup squad, nothing is guaranteed at this point.”

After the domestic competition, the Bok Women will head to Europe in April followed by the Africa Women’s Cup.

They will kick off their World Cup campaign against Brazil on Sunday, August 24, before they face Italy (August 31) and France (September 7).