The Springbok Women finished their WXV Global Series tour of Europe on a high note with a clean sheet in their 20-0 victory over Spain in hot and humid conditions at the La Cartuja sports complex in Seville, Spain on Sunday, 4 October 2026.
Leading 10-0 at the break, and despite an error count that was higher than it should have been, the Bok Women would have been very happy with their defensive effort as the Spanish pace and ball-in-hand approach thoroughly tested them, but they held firm.
There were some early jitters from both teams, but the South Africans’ scrum was solid and grew in confidence as the game progressed, and although their lineout blew hot and cold, they managed to steal some possession from their hosts.
The Bok Women were also keen to spread the ball wide and while they looked good on attack, they were guilty at times of over-eagerness, which resulted in handling errors, while they also missed touch on a couple of occasions from penalties.
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It took 14 minutes for the scorers to be troubled when Catha Jacobs scored a stunning try, which started with a big run off the back of an attacking scrum from Aseza Hele. The South Africans showed great patience on attack in Spain’s 22 and Jacobs finished a well-deserved try, with Jakkie Cilliers adding the conversion for a 7-0 lead.
Spain kept on plugging away, but the Bok Women’s defence was spot-on.
Cilliers landed a 30th-minute penalty goal to stretch South Africa’s lead to 10-0 and not long thereafter, Babalwa Latsha, who left the field earlier as a precautionary measure, had to return as her replacement, Nombuyekezo Mdliki, was stretchered off.
Hele made it 15-0 early in the second half when she crashed over after the Bok Women turned over possession in the Spanish 22, but unfortunately Cilliers pushed the conversion wide.
It took more than 20 minutes for the next points to be scored. Spain lost a player to the sin bin after repeated infringements in their own 22, which opened up enough space and Cilliers struck, going over in the corner after another good attacking move. The conversion did not go over, but at 20-0 with just over 10 minutes to go, the Bok Women were firmly in control.
The host team never stopped trying, but the Bok Women never stopped tackling and with the pack laying the foundation, the South Africans finished their WXV tour on a high note with their seventh successive win over Spain.
For Franzel September, who shares the head coaching responsibilities with Laurian Johannes-Haupt, it was a constructive day at the office. He said it was a productive day in many aspects of their play and although they did not use all their opportunities, they were pleased with the overall outcomes from the match.
“We are very proud of the ladies, who stuck to their guns today in very hot conditions,” said September.
“To come to Spain and score 20 points without conceding any points is a good day. We have trained in hot conditions all week, but today was tough and having two water breaks is proof of that. Playing at 12h00 with the sun right above your head was not easy.”
Springbok Women Co-Head Coach, Franzel September
“We did leave some tries out there, but to finish the tour with such a commanding win was great for us. We can now look back on the gains from the tour and once we come back to South Africa, start the focus on the two matches against Ireland in Cape Town later this month.”
September said the injuries to the front row, with Latsha injuring her ankle and Mdliki leaving the field on a stretcher a bit later, were disruptive, but the fact that they still had set piece dominance speaks volumes of the combined effort of the pack.
“We also had some niggles in the backline, but despite that the team pulled together and a coach cannot ask for more than that,” he said.
“They really made us proud. We will have the medical reports from those niggles later this afternoon and take it from there.
“We made some mistakes, but we did play the full 80 minutes and that was great. We were playing for everyone back home as well, which added to our feelings of content after the match.”
September said the coaching staff were particularly happy with the way they managed to kill the flow of the Spanish team.
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“We wanted to disrupt their attack to make sure they can’t get going and the fact that they could not score tells you how successful that was.
“We managed to kill their attack at source. The other highlight for us was our discipline, we neither conceded any cards nor executed high tackles. One of our aims is to be the best disciplined side at the next World Cup and we set a good standard towards that today.”
The Springbok Women WXV Global Series European Tour from 18 September to 4 October 2026
Fri 18 Sept: Wales 50-19 South Africa (Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff)
Sat 26 Sept: Italy 29-41 South Africa (Stadio Omero Tognon, Pordenone)
Sun 4 Oct: Spain 0-20 South Africa (La Cartuja Sports Complex, Seville)
Scorers:
Spain 0
Springbok Women 20 (10) – Tries: Catha Jacobs, Aseza Hele, Jakkie Cilliers
Conversion: Cilliers
Penalty goal: Cilliers
Springbok Women Matchday Squad
15 Jakkie Cilliers
14 Alichia Arries
13 Maceala Samboya
12 Shiniqwa Lamprecht
11 Patience Mokone
10 Byrhandré Dolf
9 Unam Tose
8 Aseza Hele
7 Lerato Makua
6 Sizophila Solontsi
5 Catha Jacobs
4 Vainah Ubisi
3 Babalwa Latsha (captain)
2 Anushka Groenewald
1 Xoliswa Khuzwayo
Replacements
16 Lindelwa Gwala
17 Yonela Ngxingolo
18 Nombuyekezo Mdliki
19 Danelle Lochner
20 Logan Welman
21 Aphiwe Ngwevu
22 Felicia Jacobs
23 Mary Zulu
Spain Matchday Squad
1 Inés Antolínez
2 Marieta Román
3 Eider García
4 Carmen Castellucci
5 Lourdes Alameda (captain)
6 Ana Peralta
7 Nerea García
8 Valentina Pérez
9 Matilda Toca
10 Naroa Azpitarte
11 Claudia Cano
12 Amaia Erbina
13 Claudia Peña
14 Tecla Masoko
15 Amalia Argudo
Replacements
16 Nuria Jou
17 África Vílchez
18 Maëlia Lapoujade
19 Beatriz Rivera
20 Alba Capell
21 Anne Fernández de Corres
22 Bingbing Vergara
23 Lea Ducher
Original Copy: SA Rugby Communications, with editing by gsport
Main Photo Caption: The Springbok Women close their WXV Global Series tour of Europe with a clean sheet, holding Spain scoreless in fierce midday heat that forced two water breaks, with three tries and a settled scrum laying the platform for a seventh successive win over the Spanish, at the La Cartuja sports complex in Seville, Spain on Sunday, 4 October 2026. All Photos: SA Rugby / Gallo Images
Photo 2 Caption: The Springbok Women kept the ball through long phases in the Spanish 22, where patience brought the opening try after 14 minutes in Seville.
Photo 3 Caption: Ball in hand, the Bok Women looked to spread play wide against Spain, with their scrum growing in confidence as the match wore on in the heat.
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