Playing in a home tournament is the pinnacle for any international sportswomen and it’s no different for Springbok Women’s Sevens co-captain Mathrin Simmers, who will lead her team out against France in their first Cape Town SVNS fixture this Saturday in the Mother City from 9-10 December 2023.
Simmers is no stranger to being on the international stage, having represented the South African Women’s Sevens team at the 2018 and 2022 Commonwealth Games. She was also part the 2018 and 2022 Rugby World Cup Sevens squad, not forgetting that she was part of South Africa’s campaign to qualify for next year’s Olympic Games in Paris.
Simmers, considered one of the most experienced players on the team, says being able to play in front of her loved ones makes the Cape Town leg of the World Sevens Series a special one.
“The motivation is to play in front of your family and friends and showcase your best rugby on the field. They travel from far to see us, we never get a lot of opportunities to get to play in front of our (home) fans and family, so having them there means a lot.”
The Bok Women are in Pool C and will face Canada, France, and the USA on Saturday. Both the Canadians and the French were semi-finalists, while the USA made it to the quarter-finals, in Dubai.
Although last week’s performances saw more defeats than wins, their improved performances shows how much Renfred Dazel’s team has improved in the narrow losses to the Black Ferns and Fiji.
Simmers feels that her team has proven they are not just in the Seven’s World Series to make up numbers. “We have had some massive progress in our women’s team!”
“Coming into the World Series as the 12th-ranked team, everyone expected us not to do that well. The girls really stuck to their guns and the processes and what we needed to do from the coach’s side, which was stick to the structures and play to our strength.
“It’s going to be important for us to get back to zero and then start all over again, because Dubai is gone, it’s over. We know we have to focus on Cape Town, and take it game by game.”
The South Africans will be without a key duo of Zintle Mpupha and Libbie Janse van Rensburg, but Simmers feels although it’s a huge loss to the team, she is hopeful the players brought in will step up.
“It’s tough losing two experienced players, with Libbie in the playmaker’s position and Zintle in the forwards, who have a lot of experience. Bringing in new players now to get used to the system and the intensity of the game, will be a bit tough. But I think the girls are capable, if the other senior players in the team can help them (the players coming in) and keep them calm, it won’t be that tough, hopefully.
South Africa will face France, they then take on Canada and their last match of the day will be against the USA. Saturday’s results will determine the schedule for the Bok Women on Sunday.
Springbok Women’s Pool C Fixtures at the Cape Town SVNS, on Saturday, 9 December, 2024 (All times are CAT):
09h44: France
12h06: Canada
16h44: USA
Photo caption: Playing in a home tournament is the pinnacle for many sportswomen and it’s no different for Springbok Women’s Sevens co-captain Mathrin Simmers. She will be leading her team out for the Cape Town SVNS taking place from 9-10 December 2023 in the Mother City. Photo: gsport
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