She has been on the biggest stages of the rugby world, but on Saturday, Zintle Mpupha does not want to be anywhere else than at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town, playing in the green and gold of South Africa with a leaping springbok on the chest, fueled on by a home crowd rooting for the Springbok Women and urging them on to be the best version of themselves against a much-vaunted opponent.
“Yes, it is the most special thing, and it is really as if we have an extra player on the field when the supporters are out there in their numbers – the energy we get from them is just something else,” said the 30-year-old midfielder as the Springbok Women prepare for their second match of WXV 2, against Australia in Athlone.
“It really is an exciting prospect, to run out in front of a home crowd and against a top-ranked team like Australia (7th) who really played well in their impressive win over Wales last weekend. They have highly skilled athletes in that team and they are worthy of their status in the game. We have not played against them in recent years, so that adds to the challenge.
“We have shown good physicality in our play and especially our set piece is working fine, so we have the ability to upset them. If we play well within our structure and execute the game plan we have for this match, it will bring us results, I believe.”
Mpupha ran out at iconic venues such as Twickenham, Stade de France and Eden Park in a career than spans two Rugby World Cup Sevens and a Rugby World Cup in New Zealand, not to mention the recent Olympic Games in Paris, but the journey is far from over for the versatile athlete, who also played international cricket for her country.
“It’s something to be grateful for, having been afforded those opportunities playing rugby provided me, but as we speak, the fire burns as bright now, playing in my first WXV tournament,” she said.
“It really is a brilliant tournament, especially for the Springbok Women, as we need this to improve while also getting our act together for next year's Rugby World Cup in England. There is something special brewing with this Springbok Women squad.
“I played my first test in 2018 and I can honestly say we are in a very good spot now as a squad,” said the centre, who has been capped 22 times and is one of only two players who has scored 100 test points, along with Libbie Janse van Rensburg, in the green and gold.
“The well-versed saying of leaving the jersey in a better place is certainly something that appealed to me from the start and that is still driving and making me get up in the morning. I think we have moved on such a lot from those early years and more is to come. The work is not done for this squad and I believe we can go out and show that this weekend.
“If we can do that in front of as many fans as possible, the better the occasion will be.”
The team to face Australia will be named on Thursday.
The second round of WXV 2 takes place at Athlone Stadium on Friday (Wales v Italy, 16h00) and Saturday (Scotland v Japan, 14h00 and South Africa v Australia, 17h00). Tickets are available from Ticketmaster.