Emotional Swys de Bruin praises 'delightful' performance by Springbok Women in World Cup opener

Springbok Women’s coach Swys de Bruin could not have asked for a more impressive start to their Women’s Rugby World Cup campaign than the record-breaking 66-6 victory over Brazil in Northampton on Sunday.

The win in their opening match pushed the Bok Women to the top of Pool D after the first round of the tournament concluded at Franklin’s Gardens.

De Bruin was understandably happy after the 10-try romp handed the South Africans the only try bonus-point win in Pool D, as France failed to score four tries in their 24-0 victory over Italy on Saturday.

“We have to reset now, and all our focus will move to Italy,” De Bruin said of the second pool match, next Sunday in York.

“We wanted a strong start to the tournament and got that, so well done to the players. The starting team laid the perfect foundation, and the bench finished strong, so what a delightful team performance.”

The SA coach praised his pack for their rewards in the scrums and the backs, who used their opportunities well.

“It was also pleasing that we did not concede any tries,” he said.

“Look, Brazil are the lowest-ranked team in the tournament and played at this level for the first time, but we still had to play well to put all those points on the board. We delivered an 80-minute effort, and I cannot fault the effort.”

De Bruin said there are enough work-ons for the squad ahead of next week’s match against Italy to keep everyone honest and humble.

“We still dropped balls, made poor passes, and conceded too many penalties due to a lack of discipline – all things that we need to cut from our game if we want to be effective against Italy next week,” he said.

“The ball protection at times was also not up to standard, and our breakdown work needs to be better. We have good momentum, though, and will use that in our preparation in York this coming week.”

Bok Women captain Nolusindiso Booi praised the players and said their appetite for hard work was telling.

“We really played for 80 minutes,” she said.

“There was a time early in the first half where we lost a little bit of structure, but the team came back well. The replacements also did what was expected. Winning a game at the World Cup in such a manner is something I am proud of as captain.”

For Booi, the next week will be vital as they prepare to take on Italy, with a victory confirming their spot in the quarter-finals.

“We are not getting ahead of ourselves. They have been in the top 10 in the world rankings for a long time and will also hurt after their defeat to France, so we will have to be at our best.”

Booi said the plans for their next match will be laid out in training this week.

“The coaches already have a plan and strategies for that clash,” she said.

“They got it spot-on for the Brazil game, so the playing squad have full confidence in what they will prepare for us for next weekend. Our responsibility now is to rest and recover well to be ready for this coming week.”

The Springbok Women travelled to York on Monday.