The Springbok women's team play their final pool game this weekend, against France, before turning their attention to their first-ever World Cup quarter-finals appearance.
The Springbok women’s team are still buzzing after their thrilling victory against Italy at the World Cup in England on Sunday, a result which ensured they will feature in the competition quarter-finals next week.
That victory in York — their first against the Italians — also saw them move into the top 10 in the world for the first time.
Next up for the Bok women, before the last-eight game, is a final pool match against France this weekend, in Northampton, where they opened their campaign with a win against Brazil.
‘We want more’
One of the stars of the team at the tournament, flyhalf Libbie Janse van Rensburg, said there was renewed energy and determination in the Bok camp following Sunday’s 29-24 triumph.
“Yes, we are still feeling very good about ourselves, but suddenly there is that added feeling of us going ever further,” a determined Janse van Rensburg said as the team completed their post-match reviews following the trek from York to Northampton on Monday.
“We desperately wanted to make it into the top eight and now that we have, we want more. That game against Italy, as important as it was, was not our final act, we want more, and we are not done yet.”
The Bok women’s team have an idea of what challenges France will pose on Sunday, having trained against them earlier in the season while on tour in Europe.
“We realised we were not far off during that session and it’s amazing how things changed around so sudden for us,” said Janse van Rensburg.
“We were always knocking, and now the door has been opened. The talk in the camp is that we can now get past the last eight and into the semi-finals, and I honestly don’t think it is a pipe dream.”
‘Believe in each other’
Janse van Rensburg, who was named player of the match against Italy, pointed to some of the reasons why the team are performing so well.
“We had a poor World Cup last time, but that team was too inexperienced and the environment was not great.
“This time we all know what we can do, we believe in each other and our coaches and management really created a positive environment for us. The players also get along well, and it all delivers a happy camp.
“To add to that, the support from sponsors and the public alike has been amazing. We really feel like we belong, and we now want to reward those who invested in us.”
