Siya's counterpart invites fans to Baabaas fest
NEWS: The Springbok Women is out to match the occasion of Test rugby when they host the Barbarians in a curtain raiser to the Springboks in Cape Town on Saturday.
Experienced captain Nolusindiso Booi, a 45-cap Springbok, spoke about the historical significance of hosting the Barbarians for the first time.
South Africa will start their WXV 2 campaign at the same venue on September 27 and Saturday’s encounter against the star-studded visitors provides an ideal opportunity to “test systems and processes” and showcase their talent in front of a new audience, Booi said.
“It is great to play at this venue, especially as the Boks will follow a couple of hours later against the All Blacks,” said Booi.
“Sharing the same field with the double World Cup champions is massive for our team, as we are doing our best to build an identity and brand as a team the country can be proud of as well.
“We are on the brink of the next step on that journey, playing at home again during WXV and then going to next year’s World Cup, so a good start tomorrow is huge for this group of players.”
Springbok captain Siya Kolisi visited the women’s squad on Thursday, spending time at their training session and team hotel, and according to Booi, it was a huge boost to the team.
“Siya has always been a vocal advocate of our game and his support is massive and hugely inspiring,” said Booi.
“We hope that it will convince more and more people to invest some of their time to watch us play as well, starting tomorrow and we really hope spectators will come early to come and watch us too.”
While they accept the challenge of showcasing a brand of rugby that will please the fans, the Bok Women are not expecting any favours from the Barbarians, stacked with some of the biggest names in the women’s game.
“They gave us flames in our first game at Twickenham in 2021, but last year, we were much more competitive, and I think we can reverse the result this time around,” Booi said.
It’s a rugby Frenzy tomorrow at DHL stadium 🏉🧬🇿🇦
Chatch the #BokWomen and the #Springboks in action 🔥#MakeItCount#ETTIG pic.twitter.com/DAZYXE1XVh
— SA Women’s Rugby (@WomenBoks) September 6, 2024
The experienced lock made her debut for South Africa in 2010 and now, 45 Tests later, Booi is adamant that the Springbok Women is better placed than ever before to break into the top tier of the game.
“Yes, I have been around for a long time and can honestly say that we are improving all the time,” she said.
“Many players are exposed to rugby so much earlier in their lives now and are better because of that. We are building towards a good brand of rugby.
“We will always be very physical and have good set pieces, but the speed and kicking abilities of our side are also getting better by the day.”
The Barbarians will test them, but that is exactly what the Springbok Women want from this outing, said Booi: “We know our strengths and will try to play according to those. The Baabaas have their style and that is not the same as ours, so whoever can dominate tomorrow will be able to control the scoreline. We are really keen and I believe we are ready to take a huge step forward on Saturday.”
Hello Cape of Good Hope 👋 😍#Baabaas pic.twitter.com/gOMWsSq3zP
— Barbarian FC (@Barbarian_FC) September 4, 2024
