Springbok Women not hiding from their DNA

With less than two months to go before the 2025 World Cup commences in England, there is no reason for the South Africa Women’s team to discard their most powerful weapon – the set-piece.

Set-piece rugby has long been a hallmark of South African teams, and the women’s side is no exception.

Building on the legacy of the Springboks’ back-to-back World Cup triumphs in 2019 and 2023 under Director of Rugby and now coach Rassie Erasmus, the Springbok Women are carving out a reputation as one of the world’s top scrummaging units.

“The DNA of our men’s team in this beautiful country is the same as the women’s team,” Springbok high-performance coach Swys de Bruin told reporters.

“We like the set-piece, we like the physicality – there are so many similarities.”

The team’s forward dominance was on full display last year in a commanding 59–17 victory over the Barbarians, which included three early tries from attacking line-outs, all set up by penalties won at the breakdown.

During the WXV 2 tournament, the Springbok Women stayed true to their identity, powering past Japan (31-24) before narrowly falling short but putting in a brave fight against both Australia (26-33) and Italy (19-23).

Earlier this year, they delivered a comprehensive 48-26 win over Spain, showcasing the effectiveness of their powerful pack and structured game plan.

Therefore, while Canada brings a range of challenges, the main thing for the Springbok Women is to stay true to what can bring them so much success.

The Bok Women will face the second-best in the world, Canada ahead of the Springboks’ Test match against Italy at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.

*Meanwhile, in terms of rankings, a draw will be enough to lift South Africa above Japan and into 11th place, matching their previous high, which they last occupied in April.

The Springbok Women must win by more than 15 points to gain an additional place and replace Wales in the top 10.

Canada cannot improve their rating with a victory over South Africa in the first of their two-test series as a result of the 21.73 points difference between the teams before home weighting is factored in.

However, defeat will see Canada surrender second place to New Zealand for the first time since the end of September 2024.