Long-serving captain Nolusindiso Booi will become the first player to reach 50 test caps for the Springbok Women when South Africa face Spain at Campo de Rugby Amorós Palao in Elche on Saturday.
Booi, already South Africa’s most capped women’s player, will reach this significant and historic milestone 15 years after her debut against Kazakhstan in 2010, while on the other end of the scale, Alicia Willemse could make her debut off the bench.
👏 𝐇𝐈𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘 👏
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) April 16, 2025
15 years after her debut against Kazakhstan in 2010, Nolusindiso Booi will become the first player to reach 50 Test caps for the Springbok Women 🇿🇦
They face Spain on Saturday at 5PM 📺 pic.twitter.com/xVLey8mgni
Performance coach Swys de Bruin named an experienced squad for the first test of the 2025 season, with the start of the Rugby World Cup in England only 129 days away.
Apart from Booi, Tayla Kinsey will extend her run as the most-capped scrumhalf, Lindelwa Gwala will do the same at hooker, Sinazo Mcatshulwa as loose forward and Babalwa Latsha will extend her run as the most experienced prop for the Springbok Women.
Nadine Roos and Ayanda Malinga will start at fullback and wing respectively, having played a significant role in the Springbok Women’s Sevens tournament win in Poland last weekend.
De Bruin said Booi is a real example to all involved in the women’s game.
“Her humility, how she serves the team and her just wanting what is best for them, are remarkable traits that she brings to the team,” said De Bruin.
“This is such a fantastic achievement for Nolusindiso. She has been such a fantastic leader for this team and is a real warrior on the field for so many seasons.
“We all appreciate the significance of reaching 50 caps. I almost want to compare it to 100 caps in the men’s game, given the small number of tests our women play in a season.”
The inclusion of Roos and Malinga were always part of the selection plans, De Bruin explained: “There is good cooperation between ourselves and the sevens management and we are pleased to have Nadine and Ayanda back in the starting team.
“We did not select Zintle (Mpupha) for this game, as I am trying a new midfield combination, but overall, they slotted in very nicely.
“I am giving Nadine a run at fullback, while Ayanda's try-scoring abilities on the wing will always be a threat to opposing teams. We are looking at counter-attacking opportunities in this test match and we all know what Nadine can do in space.”
De Bruin said the players are keen to get onto the field and have trained well since arriving in Spain.
“We are all really excited about this game, management and players alike,” he said.
“As I have learned since I joined the Springbok Women, when the players are excited and happy to play, they produce the goods, so we are ready to go on Saturday.”
The team’s departure back to South Africa on Sunday will not be in the players’ minds on Saturday.
“No, it can't be,” said De Bruin. “We came on this tour to play this test. The training in France and the match against the English team were part of our preparations for this match. The players will be ready for this one.”
Luchell Hanekom will make her return to the match-23 for the first time since 2023 and missing a large chunk of last season due to injury.
Also included on the bench is Hanekom’s DHL Western Province teammate Willemse (scrumhalf), who toured Europe with the squad last year, but did not feature in the tests against Spain and the USA.
Willemse made her debut for the Springbok Women’s Sevens at the World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger tournaments in Cape Town in March and if she comes off the bench, will become Springbok Women’s player #175.
Nolusindiso Booi will make #BokWomen history in Spain on Saturday - team announcement: https://t.co/VhwqcrkgWZ 🇿🇦#MakeItCount #ETTIG pic.twitter.com/ou1quI13E0
— SA Women's Rugby (@WomenBoks) April 16, 2025
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