Where it went wrong for the Bok Women
REACTION: The Springbok Women have identified several areas for improvement after suffering a 27-40 defeat to Ireland in the first of two Tests at Athlone Stadium on Saturday.
It was only the second time the two teams had faced each other, with Ireland securing a 37-0 victory at the 2006 World Cup on their previous meeting.
While much has changed since then, Ireland’s composure and experience were evident throughout the encounter.
The visitors made strong runs and carries, and Springbok co-head coach Laurian Johannes-Haupt admitted that Ireland dominated the collisions, which played a significant role in the result.
One of the positives for the Springbok Women was their scrum performance, while they also crossed the try line five times against the world number five.
*READ: Ireland too good for Bok Women
“It was a proper physical encounter and Ireland dominated the collisions,” Johannes-Haupt told reporters after the WXV Global Series fixture in Cape Town.
“They played a good game.
“We managed to score quite a few tries against the number five in the world, and we’ll take the good with the bad and do better next week.”
The Springbok Women were still firmly in the contest at half-time, trailing 21-17 after both teams scored three tries apiece.
However, Ireland took control in the second half, adding three more tries before Alichia Arries crossed for a late consolation score in the 78th minute.
“There was a bit of a decline, as the execution of our plan didn’t go according to how we wanted it to be executed.
“So that’s probably why there was a decline in the second half,” she said.
“However, the conversation was just that we know what we need to do. We need to be more direct. We need to play our game.”
The co-head coach stressed the importance of improving the team’s execution and maintaining dominance in the set piece.
“We need to execute things better. Catch the ball. Dominate in the areas that we want to. Show clear dominance in our set piece, both lineouts and scrums.
“And those are the things that make us unique, and now it’s just about doing them more consistently and doing them well.”
Johannes-Haupt also highlighted the kicking game as another area the team is gradually developing.
Jakkie Cilliers, Byrhandre Dolf and Mary Zulu are among the players currently responsible for the team’s kicking duties.
“It’s a work in progress. We’re evolving our game into a proper kicking game.
“So now we just need to get better at it.”
Co-head coach Franzel September shared her sentiments, insisting that the kicking game was not the primary concern, but rather the team’s execution.
September identified unforced errors and a lack of dominance in key moments as major contributors to the defeat.
“We feel it, and we know everyone’s disappointed. We are as well.
“Soft moments cost us. They came to one or two breakdowns earlier. We were not making dominant tackles. And those are the things that are in our control.
“The one thing that we’re going to do now is fix what’s in our control, what we can do better.
“We’ll just get out there and be better next week. But we take full ownership of this. This is not us.”
Meanwhile, September was particularly critical of the defensive lapses that allowed Ireland to capitalise on their opportunities.
“We had one or two funny moments on D. And we allowed them to score. They played four or five phases and they scored a try.
“It’s unacceptable from our side. We need to get better at that. We need to be more dominant.
“They showed clear dominance.
“They came out there, they wanted it almost more. Let’s be honest about it. But that’s not us.”
The Springbok Women will have an opportunity to respond when the two teams meet again in the second Test on Saturday, October 31.
