Springbok Women whet Cape Town fans’ appetite with huge win over Barbarians

Sizophila Solontsi runs with the ball during the Springbok women's rugby match against the Barbarians at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday. Photo: Henk Kruger/Independent Newspapers

Sizophila Solontsi runs with the ball during the Springbok women's rugby match against the Barbarians at the Cape Town Stadium on Saturday. Photo: Henk Kruger/Independent Newspapers

Published Sep 7, 2024

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The Springbok women continued their preparations for the upcoming WXV 2 campaign with a brilliant 59-17 win over the Barbarians in Cape Town on Saturday.

The game, which served as a curtain raiser for the huge Springbok men’s Rugby Championship clash against the All Blacks, was played in front of a big crowd at the Cape Town Stadium.

And, like any Barbarians game, Saturday’s game was action-packed, full of tries, big hits and exciting moments that saw the fans on their feet a number of times.

The women in green and gold were fastest out of the block and crossed the whitewash twice in the early exchanges.

The first was a classic Springbok try when hooker Lindelwa Gwala crossed over from a lineout maul. Minutes later, lock Vainah Ubisi added the Boks’ second.

The Boks scored their third try through speedster Ayanda Malinga, but soon found themselves on the back foot when Jakkie Cilliers was shown a yellow card for head contact.

With the Springboks a player down, the Barbarians were able to score two tries of their own as they looked to get back into the game.

However, the momentum swung back in the home team’s favour when Cilliers was back on, and they added another two tries to take their tally for the first half to five.

In the second half, discipline was once again an issue for the home side, with loose forward Sizophila Solontsi was also shown a yellow card, this time for a dangerous clean out at the ruck.

Like in the first half, the Boks scored immediately once they were back to 15 players when Yonela Ngxingolo crossed the try line to extend their lead.

A quickfire double from Nadine Roos and Felicia Jacobs saw the Springbok women rack up a half century of points. Malinga rounded off the scoring and the team finished the game strongly.

Scorers:

Springbok Women 59 (33) – Tries: Lindelwa Gwala, Vainah Ubisi, Ayanda Malinga (2), Aseza Hele, Sinazo Mcatshulwa, Yonela Ngxingolo, Nadine Roos, Felicia Jacobs. Conversions: Jakkie Cilliers (7).

Barbarians 17 (10) – Tries: Lydia Thompson (2), Kendra Cocksedge. Conversion: Amber Reed.

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