Women Springboks Train for Rugby World Cup

from Weekend Post:

FORTY Springbok women rugby players have been hard at work at the EP Rugby Stadium in Port Elizabeth, in preparation for the Women’s Rugby World Cup tournament in England later this year.

Under the watchful eye of their coach, Denver Wannies, the group started practising in the city on Friday in their first camp of the year.

Wannies said this was the second phase of their World Cup preparations, which started after they took part in the Sevens World Cup in March last year.

“I don’t have a pool of players that I can use to specialise with in the Sevens and Super 15s. We are actually using these players as a vehicle for the World Cup,” he said.

He had also decided to extend the squad to 40 players, of whom 36 have turned out, with four withdrawing due to work commitments. Out of the squad total, 15 are from the Eastern Cape – and Port Elizabeth alone boasts 11 players.

The plan is to cut the squad number to 30, and hopefully towards May and June reach the intended 26 mark.

“We have given players an opportunity to be part of the squad to see how things are done. This also gives them an opportunity to contest for a place in the national team.”

But the team is facing challenges, like players refusing to leave their work and also battling to follow training programmes.

Also, the lack of sponsorship is proving to be a hurdle as the team is forced to “cut to the bone in order to effect its goals”.

The prestigious tournament – last held in Edmonton, Canada, in 2006 – will be staged across west London and will showcase the top 12 teams in international women’s rugby.

Since the first tournament in 1991, the Women’s Rugby World Cup has been the catalyst for the tremendous growth in the women’s game worldwide.

The South African team is ranked last out of the 12 teams.

“But you must remember the country is new in the competition. We have learnt our lessons from the last competition. I did a personal study of our performances and results.

“What you see is what we took from there and put together for these preparations. At least we now know what we need to do,” Wannies said.

The group will be in the city until Sunday, with only four- day camps in its schedule, as Wannies reckons players get fatigued after four days of training.

Any plan to push them for longer would be risking exposing them to injuries, he said.

The level of their preparation will be displayed in a contact match next Saturday afternoon, against the EP boys’ under-17 squad.

Wannies said he had noted that once the team was pitted against male counterparts, their game speed tended to pick up.

“These matches help us a lot because we also lack international exposure.

“But with our upcoming matches, we will invite independent referees to do proper analysis of what we do right or wrong,” he said.