Springbok Women head coach Louis Koen expressed his satisfaction with his team’s 55-0 victory over Cameroon in a windy Stade Makis in Antananarivo, Madagascar on Saturday, opening their Rugby Africa Women’s Cup account with a full house of points.
Koen had high praise for the way the team kept hammering away at their opponents despite the difficult conditions and applauded his bench players for exploiting the gaps when they finally opened up.
Lindelwa Gwala and Maceala Samboya scored hat-tricks for the Springbok Women as they added six tries to their three in the first half for the comprehensive victory.
“We built an innings in the first half and the team deserve credit for the way they stuck to their tasks,” said Koen.
“The second half effort proved the benefits of their hard work as the gaps opened up, and we could expose the tiring Cameroon defence.
“It was difficult in the first half with the wind swirling around and we made some mistakes, but we never stopped trying. The two injuries in the half also had an impact and Cameroon deserve credit as they played well in the first half.”
The second half was a different affair due to the “slow poison” kicking in, the Bok Women coach said: “With them tiring and the replacements really bringing fresh legs, we could get a couple of tries, some of them really well worked on top of that.
“In the end, we got five points out of the game and overcame the first hurdle in our way. So, we are still on track.”
Koen said the two injuries – to Aliyah Tchogna-Njamen (prop) and Samantha Els (flanker) – will impact their planning for Wednesday’s game against Kenya.
“It is a short turnaround and the early injuries meant that the replacements played longer than we had planned, but we will adjust our plans accordingly and come Wednesday, will be ready for Kenya,” added Koen.