The Springbok Women’s Sevens were outplayed 33-0 by Australia and 31-0 by Canada on the opening day of the Cathay/HSBC SVNS Hong Kong on Friday, with the difference in pace and intensity from SVNS 2 forcing them onto a steep learning curve.
They came into the tournament missing several injured regulars and the lack of cohesion was clear, especially on defence, where their alignment often resulted in overlaps for their opponents to exploit.
Credit to the SA team though, who kept on trying and they will certainly target Great Britain on Saturday in their final Pool B match of the tournament. GB also lost against both Canada and Australia and if the South Africans can get their act together, they have a fighting chance for the match that starts at 05h04 (SA time).
The Springbok Women’s Sevens defended well at times in their opening match against Australia but were their own worst enemies on attack and that cost them dearly as they lost 33-0 in their tournament opener.
Every time the South Africans had the ball, they found a way to lose possession and against a team like Australia, it is fatal. The set piece from South Africa worked well, with their lineout and scrums solid, but defending the Australian set piece proved a tough task.
Australia scored three tries in the opening half for a 19-0 lead and two more in the second half, where the Bok Women showed glimpses of adapting to the pace of the top tier.
Canada scored three tries in a blink and added another five-pointer just before the break to lead by 24-0, but some good rugby in the second half by the Bok Women gave them much more parity.
The lack of finishing was evident again and the inability to get strike runner Maria Tshiremba into space meant that they could not score any points on day one.
They also lost Asisipho Plaatjies against Canada with an ankle injury.
Scorers:
South Africa 0 (0), Australia 33 (19)
Australia – Tries: Bienne Terita (2), Teagan Levi (2), Kaitlin Shave. Conversions: Tia Hinds (2), Teagan Levi (2).
South Africa 0 (0), Canada 31 (24)
Canada – Tries: Alysha Corrigan (2), Charity Williams, Florence Symonds, Carmen Izyk. Conversions: Olivia Apps (2), Savannah Bauder.
