The South Africans were steamrolled by France nine tries to one, finishing the Rugby World Cup pool stage in second place.
The Springbok women suffered a heavy 57–10 defeat to France on Sunday evening, but still finished second in Pool D, setting up an exciting Women’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final against New Zealand this Saturday.
The South Africans had already secured their first-ever play-off appearance – and a place in the world’s top 10 – after beating Brazil 66–6 and then Italy 29–24 in their first two pool matches of the global showpiece in England.
The quarter-final will be played at Sandy Park, Exeter, as an interesting rematch of sorts after the Bok women played two matches against a Black Ferns XV in Cape Town in July and August. There, the Bok women rallied from a 34–26 defeat to secure an important 41–24 win in the second match.
Coach Swys de Bruin called the result one of the best performances he had seen since he joined the squad, adding it showed they were close to where they wanted to be in their last fixture before the World Cup.
France too good for Bok women
With progression guaranteed, De Bruin made 10 changes to his side to face France at Franklin’s Gardens, Northampton.
The South Africans began the tournament ranked 12 and until those victories, a win against fourth-ranked France seemed a tall order. But even with their momentum, the new-look Bok side was no match for France and fell nine tries to one.
France wasted no time displaying their skill with two tries in the first quarter.
A penalty kick by fullback Byrhandré Dolf gave the Bok women some confidence before centre Chumisa Qawe was yellow-carded for a high tackle. This was upgraded to red over the following minutes due to the head-on-head contact involved.
France capitalised on their numerical advantage to control possession for the rest of the half, scoring two more tries and leaving the bewildered Boks 24–3 dowSentn at the break.
The Bok women fared no better in the second half, their every attack halted by a resilient French defence. The Les Bleues were unstoppable in attack, gaining metres with every carry.
They scored five more tries before scrumhalf Nadine Roos crossed for a last-minute consolation try for the Boks – slicing through defenders and running about 50 metres to score under the posts.
