'Your daughter can be a Springbok': Call to ramp up women's rugby
The Springbok Women’s historic 2025 Rugby World Cup campaign has ignited a wave of pride and belief across South Africa, marking a turning point for the women’s game in the country.
For years, the national women’s team was a footnote in South Africa’s rugby narrative – even being disbanded in 2017. Their struggles on the field, including a winless 2022 World Cup campaign and a world ranking outside the top ten, often served as justification for minimal investment.
However, in recent years, there have been visible improvements, with SA Rugby investing more money and resources into the game ahead of the World Cup.
The team prepared by facing high-quality opponents such as Canada and the Black Ferns XV in a vital pre-tournament season. These matches, combined with experience gained in the WXV 2 tournament, paid off.
South Africa recorded commanding wins over Brazil (66-6) and Italy (29-24) before falling to France (10-57) in the final pool game. Despite the loss, their performances were enough to secure a place in the quarterfinals – a feat few had believed possible.
The Springbok Women’s World Cup campaign came to end last weekend following a defeat to sixth-time World Champs Black Ferns.
While for many – especially in South Africa – the playoffs seemed out of reach, one person who was fully confident the side would make history was well-known commentator Layla Arrison.
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Back in May 2025, she spoke to Rugby365 and was fully adamant that historic achievements would occur.
And months later, on the eve of the quarterfinal clash against the Black Ferns, Arrison described the emotion as ‘incredible’.
“For us it feels like they’ve exceeded our expectations, but for them, it was a goal,” Arrison told Rugby365
“And they said that their win at the World Cup was to qualify for a quarterfinal.
“Anything past the quarterfinal is just a bonus on top of this incredible occasion and incredible moment that they’ve created for themselves.”
She added: “Springbok Women have gone above and beyond as people and as athletes, and it just shows what investment in women’s sport can do – what investment from a sponsorship point of view, the buy-in from coaches and players alike can do for the sport – because we can see it.
“This is the fruit of the labour, and it’s fruit that has been years in the making.
“This isn’t something that just happened when coach Swys de Bruin and coach Bafana Nhleko joined the management group. “This is a team that’s been together for years now, they’ve been crafting and working on their skill for the longest time.
“So this is purely – it was in the making – and we’ve reached the point where we can say, finally, we have arrived, and we’ve put ourselves on the map now.”
Arrison revealed that the Bok Women have given young girls the license to become rugby players especially in South Africa.
“I think this now finally means that the conversation around starting women’s rugby at a younger age can finally become a realistic conversation.
“These are conversations that girls can take to their teachers, directors of sport, and principals and say, ‘We want a rugby team at our school,’ and it can no longer be ignored.
“I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: your son is probably not going to become a Springbok rugby player, let’s be honest.
“However, your daughter definitely can.
“And I think we can see it now – that rugby as a sport can take your daughter across the world. She can see different countries, she can experience different relationships with people. And it just means that we’re only starting to get the ball rolling.
“This is just the beginning, and there’s an exciting trajectory ahead – not just for the Springbok Women, but for the girls and little girls who want to play this game.
“We can’t wait to have them there.”
A landmark for development
The Springbok Women’s legacy is already making massive changes, as SA Rugby has announced an Under-16 Elite Player Development (EPD) squad for girls—joining the boys from the same age group for a camp in Paarl early next month, for the first time.
The two EPD squads follow a comprehensive talent identification process during the recently held FNB Grant Khomo and FNB Girls Week for U16s in Pretoria and Johannesburg. These groups will ultimately form the bedrock of the national pathway process for these promising players.
According to Herman Masimla, SA Rugby’s Senior Manager: Development in the Participation & Development Department, the two squads represent the next generation of South African rugby excellence.
“The naming of our first-ever Under-16 Girls EPD squad is a landmark achievement in our journey to elevate women’s rugby,” said Masimla.
“It’s also a powerful intervention at a critical stage in the development of these young players. Their inclusion signals our commitment to building a truly inclusive and representative pathway for young girls in South African rugby.”
