To be honest; South African Springbok women have been rubbish for almost all of their history.
No need to beat around the bush. The bear facts provide a perfect argument. They currently occupy 12th place in the World Rugby charts and have not moved higher than 10th since 2011.
They have never advanced past the World Cup group stage and have just 3 wins and 15 losses in four appearances, with a points differential of -590. They didn’t even bother going into the 2017 edition.
De Bruyne, Switzerland on big plans for Bok Women’s World Cup
De Bruyne, Switzerland on big plans for Bok Women’s World Cup
In 24 games against England, France, New Zealand, Australia, Italy, Ireland, Fiji and Canada, they failed to record a single win.
Of course, this is not the fault of the players and coaches who have suffered for so long without recognition or support for much of this story. These often forgotten heroes did their best under difficult circumstances and without essential help from those who held the levers of power.
No one can deny that rugby around the world is disproportionately skewed towards the men’s game, but nowhere is this imbalance more stark than in South Africa.
Winning the men’s World Cup four times stands as a monument to our country’s oval ball. The players were deified. Coaches are seen as experts who know everything. Allegories rooted in hardship and struggle are linked to heroic feats on the pitch.
There are plenty of documentaries and books celebrating this truly impressive sporting institution, as well as Hollywood blockbusters chronicling its history. Meanwhile, the women’s game is barely on most fans’ radars.
Other countries have performed much better in this regard. Carrying the torch are New Zealand, which has won all six World Cups, and England, which enjoys continued dominance in its semi-professional domestic league.
But lesser-known boards were also balanced. French teams regularly compete, while women’s teams from the United States, Canada, and Spain have traditionally outperformed their men’s teams.
But if rugby is the religion of South Africa, as we often hear by practitioners and devotees, why has half the population been relegated to second-class status? In a country with unchecked domestic violence and staggering rape statistics, the obvious answer has to do with the culture of the region.
Many female Springboks say they were initially clueless about their prospects in the game. Boks scrumhalf Tayla Kinsey recently reflected on her childhood and said: “I didn’t know girls could play rugby.
This is sexism, plain and simple. In South Africa, men who play other winter sports, such as hockey, are categorized as effeminate. They eat mountains of meat, drink gallons of beer, speak loudly and directly, hit hard, and even lift weights. These are recognizable virtues in most cultures, but anyone who has spent time in South Africa and abroad will know that Mzansi people do things a little differently.
Even self-identified alpha bros have to admit that this can often turn toxic.
But this only half explains why women’s rugby in South Africa has stagnated while the men’s game has thrived. The inconvenient truth is that they are woefully underfunded. Key stakeholders, key sponsors and the governing bodies themselves have treated the women’s game without much thought. Most of the men in suits running the show had no regard for the women’s matches.
Now things are changing. And as a result of these changes, South Africa may soon dominate sports for both men and women. We encourage you to join now as an early adopter. The Springboks are on the rise.
Considering what WXV 2 has shown recently, this seems like an exaggeration. A narrow 31-24 win over Japan was followed by two losses to Australia (33-26) and Italy (23-19). They finished fourth in their group of six teams, down from third place the previous year. Is this really a sign of progress?
As with most things in sports, the answer lies beneath the scoreline and requires a wider lens. The tournament was held in South Africa with matches taking place at the DHL Stadium and Athlone Sports Stadium in Cape Town with the men’s team playing against the Stormers.
Siya Kolisi was a near-constant presence as she defended her fellow Boks, wearing a jersey specially designed for women. The largest available shirt was still too small, but he nonetheless squeezed it onto his massive frame, later appearing on an influential Women’s Rugby podcast to drum up his support.
Rugby’s greatest statesman and the most influential player in the sport’s 153-year history has given considerable weight to development projects.
Kolisi is not alone. Rassie Erasmus has singled out Springbok Women as a critical department of the organization in need of improvement. “There is a need to teach and support rugby from a women’s perspective,” he said in March 2022.
“We will soon have a competitive system. But we are also realistic and know that no miracle can be achieved.”
Respected coach and retired Irish player Lynne Cantwell has joined as High Performance Director. Last year, Bulls Daisies became South Africa’s first fully professional team, allowing players to focus solely on rugby.
Two months ago, Swys de Bruin, former coach of the men’s Lions team and assistant of the men’s Springboks, was appointed coach of the women’s team. His impact was immediately apparent with 22 red cards, set pieces, first-level strike plays and a noticeable improvement in the support line provided by the outside backs.
Nadine Roos looks a serious prospect at flyhalf and a burgeoning bench emulating the men’s Bomb Squad gives them the ability to punch through until the 80th minute.
Work is needed elsewhere. Defense remains an issue, especially against rolling mauls, which are so pivotal in the women’s game. Conditioning remains a challenge and domestically, where the Daisies currently dominate the league with an iron fist, the lack of strong competition is likely to create a bottleneck of talent.
However, more players based in England, such as Harlequins prop Babalwa Latsha and Leicester lock Catha Jacobs, point to the quality within the team.
This will not be a quick fix and simply reaching the knockout rounds of next year’s World Cup may not be enough. But with a good draw and a little bit of luck, they may be able to step into uncharted territory.
Beyond that, their potential is limitless. To get a sense of what’s possible, we need to look at what the men’s side has achieved.
