The Springbok Women will call on the experience of prop Babalwa Latsha for Friday’s WXV 2 opener against Japan at the Cape Town Stadium (5pm start).
Latsha, a former captain, returns to the starting line-up named by coach Swys de Bruin yesterday after playing off the bench in last week’s 36-19 victory over Spain at the same venue.
Tighthead prop Latsha has 30 Test caps, the fifth-most in the match 23 behind captain and lock Nolusindiso Booi (46), scrumhalf Tayla Kinsey (36), hooker Lindelwa Gwala (33) and flank Sinazo Mcatshulwa, and will take over the No 3 jersey from Azisa Mkiva, who will be among the replacements.
Latsha will be going all out to use the skills she has picked up at her club Harlequins in England to give the Boks the edge in the scrums, after the South Africans also dominated in that area against Spain.
The other change to the starting side is in the backline, where wing Ayanda Malinga is back in the side for the first time since 2022 as she replaces the injured Shaunique Hess, who scored an intercept try against Spain.
There are a few new faces on the bench as well, such as Micke Gunter, Anathi Qolo and Unam Tose.
The Japanese are ranked 11th in the world, one spot above the South Africans, so the host side will be determined to put one over their Asian opponents as part of their preparations for next year’s Women’s World Cup in England.
The power of the Springbok Women's scrum against Spain was on full display yesterday 💪🇿🇦 pic.twitter.com/GehwcDq13a
— SuperSport Rugby (@SSRugby) September 20, 2024
“The mindset is around preparing for the Rugby World Cup next year, so these are all building blocks towards that,” De Bruin said yesterday.
“Having said that, we want to do really well in this tournament and improve our world ranking.
“All three of our opponents (Japan, Italy and Australia) are ranked higher than we are, so it will be a nice challenge. For this game against Japan we put certain plans in place, but the bottom line is that we need a result as well.
“Japan play a fast game. They apply a lot of pressure defensively and chop your legs, so we need to overcome that. We will have to suffocate them, and make sure we control the tempo and territory.
“The coaches are very keen to get going and have a nervous excitement of what is to come. We have played against the Barbarians and Spain, which delivered positive results, but now is the time to shine for us.”
Extremely windy and cold conditions greeted South Africa and Spain last week Thursday at Cape Town Stadium, and while there is a forecast for a cloudy Friday this time around, the Boks will hope that the wind also stays away as predicted.
Aseza Hele's power 😳🔥
📺 Stream #SpringbokWomen on DStv: https://t.co/0P0NNhnwKw pic.twitter.com/R3zZmsOaZd
“The fact that we have played at the venue twice now will help, especially with the wind,” De Bruin said.
“Against Spain, it was really strong and swirling and our players will be able to cope with that if it happens again. The players also loved the crowds who came in, and responded well to that support.”
Springbok Women Team
15 Libbie Janse van Rensburg, 14 Jakkie Cilliers, 13 Eloise Webb, 12 Chumisa Qawe, 11 Ayanda Malinga, 10 Nadine Roos, 9 Tayla Kinsey, 8 Aseza Hele, 7 Sinazo Mcatshulwa, 6 Sizophila Solontsi, 5 Vainah Ubisi, 4 Nolusindiso Booi (captain), 3 Babalwa Latsha, 2 Lindelwa Gwala, 1 Sanelisiwe Charlie.
Bench: 16 Micke Gunter, 17 Yonela Ngxingolo, 18 Azisa Mkiva, 19 Danelle Lochner, 20 Catha Jacobs, 21 Anathi Qolo, 22 Unam Tose, 23 Zintle Mpupha.