The Springbok Women’s Sevens team concluded the Cape Town SVNS without a win. The hosts finished in 12th place losing to Japan and Spain in the tournament held at the DHL Stadium from 9-10 December 2023.
The first match of the day says the Bok Women take on Japan in their 9th-place semifinal, a game dominated by the visitors who scored the first try and added three more in just five minutes. Ayanda Malinga managed to score South Africa’s second try of the weekend, and Nadine Roos made no mistake with her conversion. Wakaba Hara scored the final try of the match for Japan, sealing the 27-7 win and forcing South Africa to play in the 11th/12th playoff.
In the final game of the day, the home side faced Spain and had a bright start to the match. It was none other than Malinga who scored her team’s first try of the game, combining well with Roos However, the team was not able to build on that, and Spain then began to dominate the game. Asisipho Plaatjies was also sent off which didn’t help matters. Spain then went on to score their third try and win the match 21-7, which meant the Bok Women would finish 12th in this year’s competition.
Malinga was one of the standout players for South Africa this weekend. She says her team was hoping to do well at home after their success in Dubai last week.
“In Dubai, everything was just flowing, we won and we played very well. Now we are home, we have everyone backing us, we have injuries. It’s (the reasons for not being able to perform) a lot of things but I feel like we didn’t have a good tournament, and we were hoping to have a good tournament at home. “
The Bok Women were without several senior players on Sunday, as regular co-captain’s Zintle Mpupha was ruled out with concussion after Dubai and Mathrin Simmers left the field on crutches after getting a knee injury against the USA on Saturday.
Malinga says the absence of so many leaders was a challenge the team struggled with in Cape Town.
“Knowing if we don’t have our leadership in the team, that the new players that are in the team should know how to play with each other, at this point we are struggling with that. When we don’t have our regular leaders who know how to lead the team, we struggled to do well.”
Springbok Women’s Sevens Player, Ayanda Malinga
Meanwhile, Australia were favourites heading into the final and managed to hold on for a 29-26 win over France.
The Aussies looked to be running away with the game thanks to Maddie Levi, however the French scored two tries and were back in the match. Levi was also shown a red card for a dangerous tackle and it looked like Australia might be losing their grip on the final, but they managed to cling on to the lead to win their first ever title Cape Town, following up with their win in Dubai last Sunday.
It was New Zealand who sealed the bronze medal on Sunday, they beat the USA 19-7. Jorja Miller, Michael Blyde and captain Risi Pouri-Lane all scored in the victory, with Blyde becoming the second women in Sevens history to reach the 200-try mark. The win will be a consolation for the Pacific island nation, having been in the final in Dubai last week.
The teams will take a break and return for the Perth leg of the tournament in January 2024.
HSBC Cape Town SVNS Results on Sunday, 10 December, 2023
9th/10th Playoff Semi-Final 1
Spain 7-21 Brazil
9th/10th Playoff Semi-Final 2
Japan 27-7 South Africa
Quarter-Finals Results
Great Britain 12 – 19 USA
Australia 24-14 Ireland
France 19-17 Fiji
New Zealand 41-0 Canada
11th/12th Playoff
Spain 21-7 South Africa
9th/10th Playoff
Brazil 15-14 Japan
7th/8th Playoff
Ireland 17-5 Great Britain
5th/6th Playoff
Fiji 19-17 Canada
Semi-Finals
USA 5-33 Australia
France 24-12 New Zealand
Bronze Medal Playoff
USA 7-19 New Zealand
Final
Australia 29-26 France
Main Photo Caption: Australia celebrates the gold medal win over France on day two of the HSBC SVNS at Cape Town Stadium on 10 December, 2023 in Cape Town, South Africa. Photo: Mike Lee – KLC fotos for World Rugby
Photo 2 Caption: The Springbok Women’s Sevens team concluded the Cape Town SVNS without a win. The hosts finished in 12th place in the tournament held at the DHL Stadium from 9-10 December 2023. Photo: Women Boks on X
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