The Springbok Women beat Spain 48-26 in Alicante on Saturday. Winger Jakkie Cilliers was among the try scorers for SA. She also kicked four conversions.
Image: AYANDA NDAMANE Independent Newspapers
The Springbok Women secured a 48-26 victory over Spain in Alicante on Saturday, with their powerful pack laying the foundation for a strong performance.
The South Africans scored five first-half tries, of which three were converted, as they built a deserved 31-5 lead over their hosts.
The Bok Women added a further two tries to put them out of reach in the second half. They rang the changes in an effort to test different combinations in a World Cup year and give the players much-needed game time.
The Spanish side capitalised on this, giving the Springboks a taste of their own medicine as they piled on the pressure and were rewarded with three well-deserved tries near the end.
In the first half, the powerful South African pack laid the foundation for a solid lead. They dominated the set-piece collisions and ensured the Bok Women enjoyed the majority of possession and territory.
The South Africans also looked dangerous whenever they spread the ball wide, with Nadine Roos her normal elusive self with ball in hand. The star of the Springbok Women's Sevens run in the Challenger Series proved her versatility once again, this time at fullback.
A scrum penalty gave the Boks the opportunity to set up an attacking line-out in a good position, and it was Sinazo Mcatshulwa (flanker) who went over for the first try of the game, converted by Jakkie Cilliers.
With the SA forwards dominating proceedings, No 8 Aseza Hele was sent over for her first of two first-half tries from driving mauls, with Cilliers adding the extras as the Bok Women took control at 19-0.
A long-range try after a line-out turnover followed, with Roos prominent to send Cilliers over under the posts as they made it 26-0 with just under 10 minutes to go in the opening stanza.
Outgunned, Spain tried gallantly and were rewarded with their first score when Tecia Masoko was sent over in the corner to reduce the deficit to 26-5. But just before the break, another maul resulted in a second try for Hela as South Africa went into the half-time break with a comfortable 31-5 lead.
The second half started very much like the first, with the green and gold jerseys dominating possession, and from another powerful scrum Hela picked up from the base, powered her way forward before passing to Libbie Janse van Rensburg to score in the right-hand corner.
This try was followed by Tayla Kinsey’s effort under the posts after the South Africans had hacked the ball up field from a Spanish mistake. Cilliers easily converted the kick to make it 43-5 with more than 30 minutes remaining.
Spain refused to give up, though, and the impressive Masoko was sent over as the home team cut the lead to 43-12.
And almost straight from the restart, strong-running Spanish midfielder Sahia Perez intercepted a loose pass to run in as Spain reduced the SA lead to 43-19.
Replacement prop Yonela Ngxingolo was sent over for SA's eighth try of the afternoon.
Scorers:
Spain 26 (5) – Tries: Tecia Masoko (2), Zahia Peres, Laura Delgado. Conversions: Amalia Argudo (3).
South Africa 48 (31) – Tries: Sinazo Mcatshulwa, Aseza Hele (2), Lindelwa Gwala, Jakkie Cilliers, Libbie Janse van Rensburg, Tayla Kinsey, Yonela Ngxingolo. Conversions: Cilliers (4).
