South Africa: Fiji Clash Can Be the Tonic for Springbok Women's World Cup Bleues

9 October 2022
Daily Maverick (Johannesburg)
By Yanga Sibembe

Following their defeat to France in their opening Rugby World Cup 2021 match, the Springbok Women must dust themselves off for a make-or-break clash against minnows Fiji.

The Springbok Women's Rugby World Cup 2021 campaign started off with defeat as they were outfoxed 40-5 by a wily French side on Saturday, 8 October.

It was both nations' first game at the global showpiece in Auckland, New Zealand, as well as the tournament's curtain-raiser.

For French and neutral supporters, it was mostly pleasant viewing as Les Bleues displayed some innovative rugby at times. They carved the stubborn South Africans open in the early minutes, with French flyhalf Caroline Drouin being the chief tormentor of the Boks.

The Drouin-inspired plays saw the French race into a 19-0 lead in the first 20 minutes -- a sequence of events that foreshadowed a thorough thumping of the South Africans. But that would be the only joy Les Bleues would experience and coach Stanley Raubenheimer's troops contained and battered them in the ensuing 50 minutes of play.

The lower-ranked Boks not only halted the French maul but also managed to gain an edge during scrums. They were rewarded for their resilience when right wing Nomawethu...

Read the full story on Daily Maverick.

Tagged:
Copyright © 2022 Daily Maverick. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.

AllAfrica publishes around 500 reports a day from more than 100 news organizations and over 500 other institutions and individuals, representing a diversity of positions on every topic. We publish news and views ranging from vigorous opponents of governments to government publications and spokespersons. Publishers named above each report are responsible for their own content, which AllAfrica does not have the legal right to edit or correct.

Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica. To address comments or complaints, please Contact us.