Springbok Women focus on breakdown improvements ahead of second Test against Canada

The Springbok Women struggled at the breakdown area in the first Test against Canada at Loftus at the weekend, so it was no wonder that it was an area of focus ahead of tomorrow’s second Test at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium in Gqeberha.

The Bok Women conceded a flurry of penalties at the breakdown in the 50-20 loss against the world’s second-ranked team in Pretoria on Saturday. They also struggled in the scrums and line-outs, typically an area of strength for the powerful South Africans.

Bok Women’s forwards coach Laurian Johannes-Haupt said they had worked hard on fixing Saturday’s shortcomings at training this week.

“We definitley want to sharpen our skills again at set-piece time, scrums and line-outs,” she said. “We had a big focus on the breakdown, on being explosive there.

“Their reaction to the breakdown needs to be sharper and quicker. We did a lot of drills around getting that back on track.

“We just want to be out there doing our best at set-piece time because that’s our superpower and we want to be good at it.”

While the assistant coach revealed that the forward pack would remain unchanged, there has been a change at flank. Sinazo Mcatshulwa drops to the bench and is replaced in the starting line-up by Catha Jacobs, who brings experience and firepower to the squad.

Experienced captain Nolusindiso Booi also acknowledged that the Bok Women were found wanting at the breakdown area last weekend.

“We were penalised heavily at the breakdowns and that not only stopped our momentum but gave them free ball, and the opportunity to get points on the board,” the lock forward said.

“We did adapt, especially in the second half, but by then we were playing catch-up rugby. This week will have a different outcome, I believe.”

Like Haupt, she also believes they can use their ‘superpower’ to put Canada under pressure.

“We are a set-piece team, that is no secret, so we will be looking at those areas to get an advantage. We got good reward with scrum penalties last week and we are hoping to get good momentum with our mauls again, and those two factors can benefit us in chasing the win,” Booi said.

“We had real good moments in Pretoria, but also lapses which they exploited, so will be looking to cut those out of our game. We have a lot to play for, and a good performance here will do us the world of good.”

She urged the crowd to get behind the Bok Women on as they gear up for next month’s World Cup in England. Saturday’s Test match will be followed by matches against the Black Ferns XV on July 26 and August 2.