The Springbok Women’s Sevens team had to endure some misfortune like illness and travel delays before the start of the HSBC SVNS World Championship tournament in Valladolid, but for Zintle Mpupha, who will lead the team out at Estadio Jose Zorrilla on Friday morning, there is a real expectation that they can deliver positive results and improve their log standing in Spain this weekend.
The Bok Women are currently 12th out of 12 teams on the log, following a disappointing performance in the World Championship opener in Hong Kong, but Mpupha is adamant that a better performance is on the cards.
Apart from the pool victory over Great Britain in Hong Kong, they did not fire any more shots as the lack of preparation and game time caught up with a squad already without five players they lost to injuries in the weeks leading up to the tournament.
“It was tough as we had to blood some youngsters and players like me and Eloise (Webb) were playing in the fifteens code,” said Mpupha.
“This time around though, we are much better prepared, and we will showcase that on the field. We had good time to prepare back home and got stuck into our way of play and game plan and I think we are in a much better position to execute what coach Cecil (Afrika) is expecting from the squad.
“The victory over GB in Hong Kong meant a lot as they were a core team on the HSBC SVNS Series this year and it showed that we can deliver wins over those teams. That is something we took to heart in preparing for this one, where we contest in a tough pool again.”
The Bok Women had some misfortune after arriving in Spain when Shinadine Bezuidenhout fell ill and needed hospital treatment. Lerato Makua will also miss the first two matches of the tournament, against USA and Australia, due to a suspension copped in Hong Kong.
'WE GIVE OURSELVES A CHANCE'
Mpupha said they looked at it from a positive mindset: “Almost 80 per cent of our squad have been to Spain before, either with the 15s or playing sevens, and we like it here. The weather is good and we prefer it hot, like we will encounter this weekend. The crowd is also appreciative of the women’s game, so we will feed off that support as well.”
South Africa will face USA, Australia and Fiji in Pool B this weekend. They have never beaten Australia but will have some muscle memory from the fact that they have beaten USA and Fiji in their last encounters.
“It is a tough pool, as they all played on the circuit, but we give ourselves a chance,” said Mpupha.
“Often, it is just the bounce of a rugby ball that determines a result and we will come close I believe. We were boosted with Vianca Boer and Patience Mokone who are back from their injuries, and as they played in a lot of the tournaments we had leading up to this one, they slotted in easily. And with the extra weeks to prepare, we feel positive about the weekend.”
© SA Rugby