South Africa Wins Confederation of African Rugby Tournament – CAR 7s

from SARFU.org:

The South African Women’s Sevens warmed up in ideal fashion for the their next two rugby assignments in Amsterdam and Russia by winning the Confederation of African Rugby tournament in Tunis on Saturday.

The team, coached by Denver Wannies and captained by Mandisa Williams, won all their matches after beating Senegal 28-0 and Kenya 36-0 in the pool stages. They then defeated Uganda 17-0 in the semifinal, which set them on course for a Cup final clash against the home team, whom they managed to beat 29-5.

South Africa’s squad consisted of 13 players and they were one of six African teams at the tournament and preparation camp arranged by CAR to provide high level coaching and much needed playing opportunity for the African women’s players. Zimbabwe and Uganda completed the list of invited teams.

According to the draw announcement by the IRB for the next Women’s Sevens World Series, South Africa will face England, Canada and France during the pool stages in the Netherlands.

To mark its debut year, the WSWS tournament will be held in conjunction with the famous Amsterdam Rugby Sevens event which takes place at the National Rugby Centrum. The Amsterdam Sevens is in its 42nd year and attracts hundreds of former internationals and teams from around the world. Tickets are selling well for the event in the Dutch capital.

The SA players will conclude their tournament preparations with a training camp in from 1 to 4 May in Cape Town, where they will again be assisted by some members of the SARU High Performance Mobi Unit.

The SA Women’s Sevens training group:

Mandisa Williams (Border, captain)
Benele Makwazela (Western Province)
Nomaphelo Mayongo (KwaZulu-Natal)
Fundiswa Plaatjie (Border)
Zenay Jordaan (Eastern Province)
Lorinda Brown (Eastern Province)
Phumeza Gadu (Eastern Province)
Nosiphiwo Goda (Border)
Shona-Leah Weston (Blue Bulls)
Mathrin Simmers (Southwestern Districts)
Natasha Hofmeester (Western Province)
Veroeshka Grain (Western Province)
Sinazo Nobele (Border) Yolanda Meiring (Blue Bulls)

Full scores from wsws.irb.com:

Pool A
South Africa 27-0 Senegal
Kenya 29-7 Senegal
South Africa 36-0 Kenya

Pool B
Tunisia    17-0 Zimbabwe
Uganda 24-0 Zimbabwe
Tunisia 12-5 Uganda

Cup semi-finals
South Africa 19-0 – Uganda
Tunisia 15-5 Kenya

5th / 6th place
Zimbabwe 19-0 Senegal

Plate final
Uganda 12-0 Kenya

Cup final
South Africa 29-5 Tunisia

Final standings
1 South Africa
2 Tunisia
3 Uganda
4 Kenya
5 Zimbabwe
6 Senegal