Springbok Women stand on the edge of history in York showdown

The Springbok Women’s team has a date with destiny on Sunday in the ancient English city of York, where they play Italy in a massively important World Cup fixture.

The South African ladies know that a victory over their pool D opponents will propel them into the quarter-finals of the global tournament, a place where no Springboks Women’s team has remotely come before.

Last week, the Bok ladies swamped Brazil 66-6 to register their first win at a World Cup since Wales were beaten in 2010.

The Springbok Women have had a tough time of it in the World Cup, and in the last tournament, in New Zealand four years ago, they could not win a game.

But things have changed under Swys de Bruin, the former Springbok assistant coach under Rassie Erasmus.

De Bruin, who took the Lions to a Super Rugby final, says he has found a new lease on life in coaching South Africa’s best female rugby players.

“These ladies are like a sponge and soak up every bit of knowledge they can. To be honest, I prefer coaching them to men.” De Bruin smiled.

The Bok Women need to win two of their three pool games to progress to the quarter-finals. Brazil were easily dispatched last week and now, to advance, the South Africans must beat either Italy on Sunday or France next week.

Given that France are one of the tournament favourites after England, New Zealand and Canada, this Sunday’s match against Italy is being regarded as a final by the South Africans.

Last year, the Bok Women narrowly lost two matches against Italy but the huge plus is that De Bruins’ team have improved enormously since then, while Italy have not improved.

The Springbok Women have caught the imagination of South Africans as they seek to emulate their illustrious colleagues in the men’s game.

Nolusindiso Booi, who will again lead the Springbok Women, said their mindset has never been better and they are ready for their date with destiny.

“We know exactly what this result will mean for us as a squad, not only in this tournament, but in the wider sense,” said Booi.

“A win will take us into the top ten on the world rankings for the first time and, even better, will push us towards that playoff spot that we worked so hard for. This is really it for us, and we are ready.”