CAPE TOWN – While the Springbok Women's Sevens team were eyeing a top-10 finish at the Cape Town Sevens, which they achieved, coach Paul Delport lamented the lack of intensity he felt they produced.
Imbokodo lost 19-7 to Spain in the ninth and tenth place play-off on Sunday.
While it was the inaugural womens leg of the Cape Town Sevens, it was the first time the SA Women's team played on the World Sevens Series since 2017.
They opened against New Zealand, in a match they lost 40-0, and while the seemed to shake the shackles of pressure, or nerves rather, as the weekend progressed, they couldn't secure a win in the three-day event.
Delport said the lessons they learned proved valuable as they competed against the 11 core teams on the World Series.
Delport. Mpupha sees a brighter future 🌈🌈🌈https://t.co/UPV8jiswX5 pic.twitter.com/ohntHKGqrg
— Springbok Women (@WomenBoks) December 15, 2019
"We realised that our intensity was not good enough and therefor our defence suffered and we made some poor decisions on attack,” said Delport.
“But that was always par for the course as we last played at any level close to this last year at the Rugby World Cup Sevens."
"I can tell you, I am very proud of this group of women. They really gave everything they had, and I think the crowd appreciated that.
“The support was wonderful and that will mean so much for the team. We have now lived this experience so have a very good idea on where we stand as a group,” he said.
Springbok Women's Sevens captain, Zintle Mpupha, said they got a taste of what the circuit is all about.
"We have now tasted what the circuit is about, and everyone wants more of this,” she said.
“The home crowd was amazing, and we want to thank everyone who came to support us. The future of this team is now in our hands and we must use this energy we got from playing in Cape Town to improve as a squad."
"There are very good players in this squad and that is a good start. No one is not prepared to work hard, and we will all be better for the experience we had here,” she said.