The Springbok Women are bracing for their toughest challenge in the WXV 2 when they take on Australia at Athlone Stadium in Cape Town on Saturday.
The Bok Women started their campaign with a thrilling 31-24 over Japan on Friday, while the Wallaroos beat Wales 37-5 on Saturday following an impressive performance.
“It is a wonderful challenge for us, playing Australia and being tested in a different way than Japan did,” said scrum coach Laurian Johannes-Haupt on sarugby.co.za.
“We looked at the things we did not execute well against Japan, but also started to get our minds on the next job, that being a competitive performance against Australia.”
“They played well [against Wales] and for us, that was a good indication of what we can expect this weekend.
“They are a well-rounded team and did many good things, but we have our own plans and strategies for this match. Their scrum was good, as we know ours is, so it will be a massive battle up front on Saturday.
Great tries scored by the #BokWomen against Japan @WXVRugby pic.twitter.com/Sd9NTmNgla
— SA Women's Rugby (@WomenBoks) September 27, 2024
“The fact that all three tiers of the WXV played over the weekend delivered so many good match-ups, tells you how exciting the women’s game is right now. Look at WXV 2, you simply cannot predict a result for any of the games to come.”
The Springbok Women are currently on a five-match winning streak, with their last defeat coming against the United States (17-38) back in March.
Since then they have beaten Japan, Spain, a strong Barbarians team and have been dominant in matches against African rivals Cameroon, Kenya and Madagascar.
These matches have been excellent preparation ahead of next year’s Women’s World Cup. But Australia will arguably be one of their biggest challenges to date.
“It is all about improving your ranking by beating teams that are better ranked than you, and that is our ambition against Australia,” said the Bok Women assistant coach.
“Those teams challenge you in different ways and Australia will be no different, but we embrace this opportunity to be tested as that is the only way we will identify shortcomings.”
Springbok Women lock Danelle Lochner said they have their plans in place for Australia and added that the players have the belief that they are capable of victory.
“We had a good look at those things we did not do well against Japan, but also highlighted the good things in that win and how we can repeat that against the Wallaroos,” she said.
“They will most certainly play a running game against us, but we also have strengths we can use to subdue them.
“We are in a good space as a squad. We can feel and see the improvements we are making and the fact that more and more people are coming to watch us play is a wonderful incentive for us to keep that going.
“We are working really hard and there are good rewards because of that. We urge our supporters to come to Athlone on Saturday, we need their support to drive us forward.”
The Springbok Women matchday squad for Saturday will be announced on Tuesday.
@JohnGoliath82
