The Springbok Women are determined to be on the right side of the law at the World Cup in England in August, to avoid conceding costly penalties.
They made huge strides in this regard at their latest training camp at Stellenbosch Academy of Sport that concluded on Friday.
Law interpretation was a key aspect to the week’s preparation and focus.
According to Bok Women’s assistant coach Franzel September, they worked on their fundamentals.
“We want to be the most disciplined team at the World Cup and made it part of our planning from the start,” said September.
He said experienced match officials Aimee Barrett-Theron and Dylan November played a key role to this end at the camp.
“At this camp, we had Aimee Barrett-Theron with us all week and Dylan November on Friday, assisting us in all matters law-related.
“Aimee did two days of training with us, going through various phases of play and explaining the way referees interpret things, and that helped the players a huge amount.
“Dylan helped us in our defence session, and we want to thank them for their time. We really want to make this a focus area of our campaign, not to concede penalties, so these interventions are gold to us.
“We will keep involving them in future,” he said.
September praised the players’ attitude and fitness levels.
“There is massive gratitude to all the provincial coaches, as all these players are also in the midst of the Women’s Premier Division, but we found their co-operation very beneficial,” he said.
“We had a good discussion with them last November, explaining our roadmap to the World Cup and how these camps fit into that plan, and they are all on board, something we cannot credit enough.
“The technical part of these camps is one thing, the fact that we can train with good intensity is another and very helpful.”
The players returned to their home unions on Friday and will be back in action next weekend in round five of the Premier Division.
“The fact that we have the competition this early does not only help getting the girls in shape earlier than usual, but it also gives them valuable game time,” said September.
“It also affords us the opportunity to keep a close watch on the contenders in each position. Overall, our campaign is moving along nicely.”
The next camp will take place from March 10-15, also in Stellenbosch.
