women
international women
Returning to winning ways, the Springbok Women said Italy “won’t beat them”.
A week ago, the world’s tenth-ranked team was shocked Wales in Cardiff, as Sean Lynn’s team won 50-19. South Africa returned to winning ways at the first time of asking with a 41-29 win against the *Azzurra* in Pordenone.
The Springbok women stood out at times as their 24-10 half-time lead was overturned in the second half as converted tries from Italy’s Alyssa D’Inca and Vittoria Ostuni Minuzzi, along with a Michaela Sillari penalty, gave the hosts a narrow lead with 15 minutes remaining.
It took tries from Micke Gunter and Logan Welman – both converted by Jakkie Cilliers – to secure victory for the Springbok Women.
“They won’t beat us today,” said Sizofila Solonci. “Credit to Italy who also played with a lot of heart and even took the lead with 15 minutes to go, but we stayed connected as a group and fought back to win. It’s a great feeling and will do wonders for the team.”
Halves Libbie Janse van Rensburg and Byrhandré Dolf picked up injuries in the win and will be assessed in the coming days.
It has been a challenging month for the Springbok women. Ahead of their biggest rugby rivalry against the Black Ferns, it has been confirmed that Swys de Bruin has stepped down from his role as head coach of the team. For the WXV Global Series, Laurian Johannes-Haupt and Franzel September have been named co-head coaches.
South Africa have already experienced both the highs and lows of their European campaign. Next week, the team travels to Seville for a game Spain the side that finished third WXV Global Series Challenger in Hong Kong.
“We’ve had really tough sessions and we’ve been focusing on getting rid of the little things that have become big things in Wales, and I’m very pleased to say that we’ve done just that,” said Franzel September.
“This was a very good win for us. The focus is still on building up to the next World Cup, but you also need confidence from wins like this to confirm that you are on the right track.”