Cecil Afrika has praised his squad's resolve after the Springbok Women's Sevens finished ninth at the HSBC SVNS Valladolid, moving up from 12th place in Hong Kong, and says the group heads to next weekend's World Championship finale in Bordeaux on an upward curve.
The Bok Women secured their ninth-place finish with a 19-17 win over Argentina on Saturday and a 19-12 victory over Brazil on Sunday, narrowly missing out on a top-eight spot after a close defeat to Fiji.
"It was pleasing to finish with wins over Argentina and Brazil and coming so close against Fiji," said Afrika. "We want to be playing among the top eight sides, and there is no reason why we cannot keep improving next weekend."
Africa attributed the improvement from Hong Kong — where injuries severely disrupted preparations — to time spent together at their Stellenbosch training base. "We improved due to having time together on the training field and the squad becoming a tight-knit group. We act out the principle of caring and that showed here this weekend."
He acknowledged ongoing errors but viewed the tournament as a valuable learning exercise. "We are still making silly mistakes and errors of judgment, but lots of lessons were learned. We should learn from those and come back stronger."
Injury concerns could force Afrika's hand before Bordeaux. Lerato Makua did not feature on Sunday, Byrhandré Dolf left the field during the Brazil match, and Shanidené Bezuidenhout remains sidelined following surgery — though Afrika confirmed Bezuidenhout is recovering. Replacements from South Africa remain an option pending medical assessments.
Debutant Jané Mulder drew specific mention from Afrika as an example of the experience being gained by players in their first year on the circuit. "She did well as a debutant so far — maybe too eager at times, but that is how they learn."