The Springbok Women have already reached their primary objective – to reach the quarterfinals of the Women's Rugby World Cup in England – and will go into their playoff against New Zealand's Black Ferns at Sandy Park on Saturday with no fear of failure.
Instead, said Bok Women assistant coach Laurian Johannes-Haupt, it will be a celebration of their journey and with a determined mindset to add even more milestones to their list of achievements.
“That will in fact make the job easier for the players to just focus on the job at hand,” said Johannes-Haupt.
“We do not need to worry about anything else; we can just go out and play and make sure we stick to our processes. We have a plan for this match and prepared well – there is no way that we will just roll over because we are playing against a team that have won this tournament six times already.”
The Black Ferns deserve the credit and accolades that are coming their way, but as in life, there are two sides to a story or in this case, two teams on the field and such is the passion for the Springbok jersey that they will refuse to go away on Saturday, according to Johannes-Haupt.
“Our set piece has been working well in recent encounters against teams like Canada, Italy and the Black Ferns XV, and for the scrum coach, that is a good foundation in taking on the third ranked team in the world,” she said.
“We pride ourselves on our set piece, that is no secret, and will try and get New Zealand to play on our terms for as long as possible.
“If we can force them to play in our strong areas, we will have a realistic chance. Obviously, they would want to do the opposite and play with freedom out wide where their skilled backs have scored some good tries in this tournament, so it will be a clash of styles for sure.”
The SA coach played against New Zealand in the Women's Rugby World Cup in England in 2010 and said the full circle moment for her is a special feeling.
“What makes me most proud of this full circle is to see where we are now, how much we have grown and more specially, how much our group have progressed over the last couple of seasons,” she said.
“Here we are, ready to play the biggest game of our lives and the players cannot wait to go out and play and do their best. That is very rewarding for me, firstly as an ex-player, but also as a coach.”
Ultimately, Johannes-Haupt concluded, the Springbok Women will step away from this tournament with a massive boost of belief and confidence, irrespective of the result on Saturday.
“Look at our year – we played the No 2 and four teams in the world and on Saturday, we play the third ranked side and defending World Cup champions,” she said.
“What more can you ask for in a season where those matches were all critical in our development. That has been huge for us and 2025 has already been a watershed year for the Springbok Women.
“We have the opportunity to make it even more special and believe me, we will show up and represent everyone who backed us, those who are new supporters, and we will represent South Africa with everything we have.”
Bok Women flanker Sizophila Solontsi added that the journey started at the previous Rugby World Cup already.
“We’ve been working for this since the previous World Cup which didn’t go our way and now, we are among the top eight in the world,” said Solontsi.
“Seeing all those outcomes now is a humbling rollercoaster of emotions for us, but one we are proud of.”
On the Black Ferns’ standing, Solontsi said they have a pragmatic approach: “We can’t hide away from the fact they’re ranked No 3. Earlier we played Canada, they are No 2. Those are the games we want, so that is fine, those are good pressures.
“The difference is that this is a knockout game with everything to lose. So, it is not about the team we’re playing against; it’s more about the knockout stage, but that shouldn't affect us much because we’ve worked for this.”
Solontsi said they don't mind being written off even before the start of the match.
“I prefer being an underdog going into a match,” she said. “That status does not take away from our ability to play rugby, and it’s anyone’s game.”