The 32-player Springbok Women‘s squad for the 2025 Rugby World Cup in England was announced at the FNB Stadium in Nasrec, Johannesburg, on Saturday.
It will be the fifth time that South Africa competes at a World Cup, and arguably the first time they go into the tournament as organised as they currently are.
The Bok Women will play the seventh-ranked Italy and fourth-ranked France in their pool matches, but they start against Brazil on the 24th of this month.
The team will be led by the inspirational Nolusindiso Booi, the most capped Springbok women’s player with 52 appearances in what will be her fourth and final World Cup.
“Things from the time that I started were not like this, but now we can see the difference and everything. But one thing that I can tell you is that we have a friendly environment where everyone is welcome.”
The Bok Women leave for the World Cup on the back of a morale-boosting win over New Zealand 15.
Vice-captain Babalwa Latsha believes that winning has allowed her team to start believing that anything is possible.
“Yes, we have had struggles. We have struggled together, and we have trained exceptionally hard together. If anything, that is what brings us closer as a group, but I am confident that I speak for the team, I imagine saying we are as best prepared as we’re going into the World Cup.”
Swys de Bruin was appointed by SA Rugby to make sure the Bok Women had the best coach possible. He says it’s the players who make his job rewarding.
Springbok Women coach Swys de Bruin says, “It is really a rainbow nation team where they come from and how they share and how they inspire us as coaches and what they do and how they are together.”
Aseza Hele is a try-scoring loose forward, with 13 tries in her 28 appearances. She hopes to inspire the next generation of female rugby players. “We are women, we can do anything, nothing is impossible for a woman.”
The next most experienced player in the squad is Tayla Kinsey with 40 caps. She has been to two World Cups as well.
“A lot of us have been playing together for a very long time. We knew the 2022 World Cup we were building for this one, so now we have accumulated the caps that we needed to do and spend the quality time together, and I think that is reflecting in our game.”
The Springbok Women will leave for the Rugby World Cup in England on Thursday. Ten days after that, they face Brazil in Pool D in Northampton.
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