Bok Women overpower Spain in Cape Town

MATCH REPORT: The Springbok Women will head into WXV 2 with some momentum after they beat Spain by 36-19 in cold and blustery conditions in Cape Town on Thursday.

The South African pack monstered their Spanish opponents and laid the foundation for the win, with the introduction of a handful of second-half replacements mimicking the Springboks’ Bomb Squad as they kept the visitors under the pump.

They didn’t only dominate the scrums and line-outs though, but also tackled with vigour, often forcing mistakes from their opponents.

The Springbok Women started the game on the back foot with Spain showing their attacking intent early, despite the swirling wind, but South Africa defended very well, even after losing Sanelisiwe Charlie to the sinbin for repeated infringements in the seventh minute.

The visitors finally found a hole in the SA defence when Amalia Argudo (flyhalf) sliced through from a clever inside pass on the Bok Women’s 22 to score under the uprights, adding the conversion herself to make it 7-0 after 20 minutes.

That sparked the host team to life though and a few minutes later, Aseza Hele burst over off the back of an attacking scrum for a classic No.8 try, smashing her way through three tackles. Jakkie Cilliers failed to convert but the South Africans were on the board.

The Bok Women slowly gained confidence and took control of the match, with their pack laying a strong foundation, but at times, the backs looked a bit over-eager and were guilty of not running straight enough.

With five minutes to go in the first half, Lindelwa Gwala (hooker) put South Africa in the lead with a simple maul try, and Cilliers’ conversion made it 12-7. They had an opportunity to score late in the half, but failed to make it count.

The second half started in the same way with South Africa missing an opportunity to score early on, but they didn’t need a second invitation when Spain lost a player to the sinbin in the 53rd minute, with Gwala going over for her second maul try.

Cilliers converted to make it 19-7, but six minutes later the score changed to 24-7 when Libbie Janse van Rensburg (fullback) went over for her 11th Test try as the Bok Women sent the ball wide from another dominant scrum.

With that try, Janse van Rensburg also reached 200 Test points, becoming the first South African woman to pass this mark.

Spain’s replacement back Martina Marquez pulled one back for the visitors in the 65th minute, but then Vainah Ubisi (lock) capped yet another superb performance with a try from a line-out, taking the ball and crashing over as Spain expected another maul to be set.

When Shaunique Hess (left wing) intercepted with less than 10 minutes to go and sprinted 80m to score South Africa’s sixth try, the deal was done.

Spain came with one last surge, but it ended as it started, with South Africa on defence until Zahía Perez (centre) found a way through for her team’s third try after the buzzer had sounded.

The scorers:

For South Africa:
Tries: Hele, Gwala 2, Janse van Rensburg, Ubisi, Hess
Cons: Cilliers 3

Spain:
Tries: Argudo, Marquez, Perez
Cons: Argudo, Azpitarte

Teams:

South Africa Women: 15 Libbie Janse van Rensburg, 14 Jakkie Cilliers, 13 Eloise Webb, 12 Chumisa Qawe, 11 Ayanda Malinga, 10 Nadine Roos, 9 Tayla Kinsey, 8 Aseza Hele, 7 Sinazo Mcatshulwa, 6 Sizophila Solontsi, 5 Vainah Ubisi, 4 Nolusindiso Booi (captain)3 Azisa Mkiva, 2 Lindelwa Gwala, 1 Sanelisiwe Charlie.
Replacements: 16 Roseline Botes, 17 Yonela Ngxingolo, 18 Babalwa Latsha, 19 Danelle Lochner, 20 Catha Jacobs, 21 Felicia Jacobs, 22 Zintle Mpupha, 23 Aphiwe Ngwevu.

Spain Women: 15 Claudia Peña, 14 Claudia Pérez, 13 Alba Vinuesa, 12 Zahía Pérez, 11 Clara Piquero, 10 Amalia Argudo, 9 Lucía Díaz, 8 Carmen Castellucci, 7 Alba Capell, 6 Nerea García, 5 Loudes Alameda, 4 Nacina Cisa, 3 Laura Delgado, 2 Marieta Román, 1 María del Castillo.
Replacements: 16 Cristina Blanco, 17 Inés Antolínez, 18 Mireia de Andrés, 19 Anna Puig, 20 María Calvo, 21 Anne Fernández de Corres, 22 Naroa Azpitarte, 23 Martina Márquez.

Referee: Zoe Naude (South Africa)
Assistant referees: Aimee Barrett-Theron, Dylen November
TMO: Quinton Immelman