'Iron sharpens iron': Bok Women brace for Black Ferns rivalry

EXCLUSIVE: The 2026 season is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated in the history of the Springbok Women, and prop Yonela Ngxingolo believes the squad is more than ready to rise to the challenge.

At the back of the breakthrough campaign at the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup in England, the Springbok Women emerged as competitors. Many observers regarded them as the team of the tournament – a side that announced itself on the global stage.

South Africa recorded victories over Brazil and Italy before suffering defeats to France and the Black Ferns, the latter coming in a historic quarterfinal clash.

Although the campaign ended without silverware, the performance against New Zealand left an indelible mark. The Springbok Women struck first and went into halftime locked at 10-10 with the six-time world champions. It was only in the second half that the Black Ferns pulled away to book their place in the semifinals.

“I don’t think I’ll ever replace that feeling,” said Ngxingolo, who made her impact off the bench in the showdown.

“More World Cups are coming, more expectations, but the feeling of being at the World Cup was phenomenal – playing against the best teams in the world literally grows you as a player. You get to have more experience.”

Ngxingolo praised the entire World Cup environment, from the coaching staff to the organisational support.

“The World Cup was amazing. The coaches were phenomenal, the staff, the organisation, the sponsors that came through – it was amazing. Seeing people support women’s rugby like that even opened our eyes as South Africans, that actually people really do support women’s rugby outside.”

Much of South Africa’s confidence stemmed from a meticulously planned build-up under coach Swys de Bruin.

“It’s been a good journey, even the build-up. Coach Swys de Bruin brought the team together – they were phenomenal – and just believing in the plan and buying into it as a team made us gain a great deal of confidence.

“I think the more game time we got, the more confidence we gained in the World Cup. That build-up towards the World Cup happened at the right time. Everything felt like it was meant to happen the way it happened, so credit to everyone who supported us. We really saw – and we still see – your support, and we do believe there’s more to come.”

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The next phase of that journey sees the Springbok Women facing elite opposition on home turf in 2026.

For the first time, both the USA and New Zealand’s Black Ferns will tour South Africa. The Bok Women will meet the USA in a historic two-Test series in July, played in Johannesburg and Pretoria.

The matches at Ellis Park (Saturday, July 4) and Loftus Versfeld (Saturday, July 11) will form part of double headers, with the Springboks hosting England and Scotland, respectively.

Later in the year, the Springbok Women will face the Black Ferns in another landmark occasion – a double header at FNB Stadium on September 4 during Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry Test.

“We want to face the best so that we can be the best. They always say iron sharpens iron, so I do think and believe that we’re going to do well,” said Ngxingolo.

“They’re going to be quite a challenge, but we’re definitely up for it because that’s where we want to see ourselves. We can’t say we’re fine with playing lower-ranked teams – the only way to get better is to play the best. For us, it’s a good challenge, and we’d like to see more of that going forward in terms of game time and matches.

“We just want to be better in our own way, in our system, because growth is there. We’ve improved a lot of things and many phases of the game, so I do think it will be a good challenge for us and will build our confidence more and more going forward.”

From East London to the Green and Gold

Hailing from East London, the multi-talented athlete played netball and practised karate, but rugby’s physicality, camaraderie and travel opportunities proved irresistible.

“I was in Grade Seven [at Tom Panyana Primary School] when they introduced rugby, and I actually enjoyed it. However, the problem was that I attended a high school that didn’t offer rugby. So in Grade Nine, I told my mom I missed playing rugby, and then I changed high schools.

“I went to [Sandisiwe Secondary School] where there was rugby, and funny enough, when I got there, my long-lost coach who introduced me to rugby just looked me in the eye and said, ‘Where have you been? I’ve been looking for you.’

“So for me, it felt like a calling from God that I needed to get back to the sport that I really love.”

She added: “I had to choose between karate and rugby. Even my karate coach – my sensei – I told him I couldn’t do karate anymore because it needed more funding. Rugby supports you with a lot of things, so financially I couldn’t choose karate because you have to pay for everything.”

Originally a flank, Ngxingolo transitioned to prop after catching the eye of her coaches – and chasing down a future Springbok great, Lusanda Dumke.

“I started playing at seven. My first game was against a school called Second Seaswell High School, and that was my first time playing against Lusanda Dumke – she was playing eighthman.

“My coach said I could play flank to start, but when I got selected for Border Under-16, they picked me as a prop. My coach said, ‘You see that girl you were chasing the whole game?’ and I said yes. He then told me she played for the Under-18 Springboks. I was shocked because I didn’t know she played at the national level.

“They told me that if I wanted to play for the national team, I’d be competing against her. I laughed and said I didn’t think I was ready to compete with someone so fast and skilful. So I decided to try prop. I didn’t want to play hooker because there’s a lot of pressure. I just wanted to lift someone in the lineout and be done. That’s when I transitioned to prop, and that’s been my position ever since.”

Now 27 and playing for Bulls Daisies, Ngxingolo played for the Border Bulldogs before earning a place in the Springbok setup at 19. She had to wait another year to make her debut due to age restrictions for props at the international level.

Her Springbok debut came against Wales in 2018. Since then, she has represented South Africa at two World Cups, including the landmark 2025 edition in England, where the Bok Women reached the quarterfinals for the first time.

And if Ngxingolo had it her way, that historic achievement is only the beginning.