Springbok Women: The highs, lows and lessons of a turbulent 2026
IN THE SPOTLIGHT: The Springbok Women entered 2026 with renewed ambition after making history at the 2025 Rugby World Cup.
It proved to be a season of significant highs, difficult setbacks and plenty of reasons for optimism.
The 2025 Rugby World Cup had given South African women’s rugby a new sense of belief.
For the first time in their history, they reached the quarterfinals of the tournament, producing a series of impressive performances along the way. They defeated Italy and pushed eventual champions New Zealand before their campaign came to an end.
There was a sense that the team had turned a corner.
And as the 2026 season got underway, the challenge was to build on that momentum and demonstrate that their World Cup success was not a one-off.
#REACTION: “We made good strides and the next phase of our development will be to beat teams like Ireland.”
https://t.co/cS4disZGRP— Rugby365 (@rugby365com) November 1, 2026
In many respects, they did just that.
South Africa began the year by securing a record sixth Rugby Africa Cup title, despite being without several established players, including Aseza Hele, Nadine Roos, Danelle Lochner and Babalwa Latsha.
Their absence provided opportunities for emerging talent to make an impression. Players such as Logan Welman, Anuschka Groenewald, Maria Tshiremba and Insaaf Levy stepped up, strengthening the depth of the squad.
The Boks also made history in August when they recorded their first-ever series victory over Fiji.
The side claimed two wins against the hosts, 55-12 and 29-22, underlining their growing competitiveness on the international stage.
As had been the case during the Rugby Africa Cup, the coaching staff made use of a two-squad system, with certain players remaining behind to prepare for the upcoming WXV campaign.
The next challenge came against the United States, who toured South Africa for the first time.
The Bok Women made a strong start to the two-Test series, securing a 34-21 victory at Ellis Park in July.
However, the visitors responded in the second encounter, claiming a 26-19 win at Loftus Versfeld to ensure the series ended level.
South Africa had shown enough across the two matches to suggest that they were continuing to make progress.
Then came one of the biggest occasions in the team’s history: a meeting with the Black Ferns.
The fixture formed part of a historic double-header at FNB Stadium, alongside the Springboks-All Blacks clash.
But the build-up was overshadowed by a major development, with Swys de Bruin’s resignation as head coach making the headlines just a day before the encounter.
Despite the disruption, the Springbok Women showed considerable fight against the second-ranked New Zealand.
Under the guidance of co-head coaches Laurian Johannes-Haupt and Franzel September, they remained competitive before New Zealand pulled away in the second half to secure a 52-20 victory.
It was a difficult result, but the performance offered further evidence of the team’s ability to compete against the world’s leading sides.
The focus then shifted to the WXV campaign, where South Africa endured a disappointing start.
A 19-50 defeat against Wales at Cardiff Arms Park raised concerns, with the team producing a performance well below their capabilities.
However, the response was encouraging.
The Bok Women bounced back with a 41-29 victory over Italy at the Stadio Omero Tognon, recording their first-ever win against the Italians on their home soil.
They followed that result with an impressive 20-0 victory over Spain, restoring confidence and demonstrating their ability to recover from adversity.
The campaign concluded in South Africa with back-to-back defeats against Ireland, bringing a challenging international season to an end.
There were, however, other milestones worth celebrating.
Yonela Ngxingolo became only the second South African female player to earn 50 Test caps in a Bok jersey.
The Springbok Women briefly climbed to ninth in the world rankings, reaching the highest position in their history.
Ultimately, 2026 was a season of contrasting fortunes.
There is no doubt that the Springbok Women have made progress since the 2025 World Cup.
The challenge now is to turn those promising steps into sustained progress, build greater consistency and ensure that the foundations laid over the past two seasons translate into an even stronger team heading towards the 2029 Rugby World Cup.
