South Africa bring in another referee to deal with scrums ahead of FNB clash
SPOTLIGHT: With former referee Jaco Peyper already part of the Springboks’ coaching setup, the Springbok Women have followed a similar approach by bringing South Africa’s leading referee, Aimee Barrett-Theron, into their preparations for their historic clash against the Black Ferns.
The Springbok Women and New Zealand will meet on South African soil for the first time in what promises to be a landmark occasion for women’s rugby.
The fixture forms part of the Greatest Rivalry Series, with the Springboks and All Blacks locked at 1-1 heading into their showdown at FNB Stadium.
The Springbok Women will be looking to once again make their set-piece a major weapon against the Black Ferns.
The two sides last met in the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup quarterfinals in England, where South Africa stunned the world with a devastating 15-player maul.
Their perfectly executed set-piece work also saw backline duo Nadine Roos and Byrhandre Dolf positioned in the middle of the line-out.
“We have two proper packs, so that is definitely one of our strengths, and carry on with that,” said Springbok Women assistant coach Laurian Johannes-Haupt.
“Our set-piece in general is working well together, so it’s definitely something we want to put forward to the New Zealanders.”
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With the scrum receiving plenty of attention on the men’s side of the Greatest Rivalry, the Springbok Women have also enlisted Barrett-Theron to help them navigate the intricacies of the set-piece.
The most-capped female international referee in rugby history stepped away from the officiating to concentrate on treatment for breast cancer in July 2026.
Her CV reads like a roll of honour: the 2017 and 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cups, the Tokyo Olympics, the United Rugby Championship and the Women’s Six Nations.
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“Having Aimee here is a gamechanger,” Johannes-Haupt stated.
“With World Rugby, there are a few things we wanted to tweak with regards to the law. We wanted to get better at the laws.
“So having Aimee calling the scrum resets is massive, so the girls know exactly what to expect and the pictures we need to show the referees.”
Despite New Zealand’s status as the world’s No. 2-ranked team, Johannes-Haupt insists the Springbok Women are not travelling into the contest simply to make up the numbers.
“We’re going into this game extremely positive. New Zealand are No. 2 in the world, and that speaks to their programme and everything that they have ploughed into it.
“But also, we are not going there just to compete. We are actually going to dominate in a lot of facets of the game.
“We want to showcase what we’ve done in the past and where we’re heading as our involvement and improving. We just want to step up, and competing with the top two is exactly where we want to be.”
Injury concerns
Meanwhile, the coach revealed that Chumisa Qawe, Nadine Roos, Sinazo Mcatshulwa and Naima Hlatshwayo are currently injured.
“Our extended squad is quite big, and that is where we have the injuries.
“But the nice thing is, we finally have good competition because of the growth of the women’s game in South Africa.
“We no longer just have 30 people to select from; we now have an extended group.”
Johannes-Haupt also highlighted the growing investment in women’s rugby in South Africa, pointing to the increased depth available to the national team.
“The amount of resources SA Rugby has put into the women’s game has been really good.
“We have the Academy functioning with two groups – Junior Rising Stars and a Hunters group. We also have our U20 competitions, and then we have U18 junior rugby.
“So there is a big amount of rugby running.”
