The Springbok Women opened their series against the USA with a commanding 34-21 victory at Ellis Park on Saturday, though a late three-try USA comeback has given coach Swys de Bruin plenty to address before the teams meet again at Loftus Versfeld this weekend.
South Africa entered the match without Nadine Roos, Aseza Hele and Sinazo Mcatshulwa, facing a USA side ranked eighth in the world and carrying wins over top-tier opposition including Australia in the Pacific Four Series. It barely showed. The Bok pack, led by Vainah Ubisi, Danelle Lochner, captain Babalwa Latsha and Catha Jacobs, controlled the collisions and set-pieces from the outset, and South Africa led 29-0 at half-time before stretching that to 34-0 early in the second half.
The standout individual was 20-year-old Logan Welman, who announced herself at Test level with two tries and a display that combined strong ball-carrying with composed defence.
The Eagles' late revival, scoring three unanswered tries, was the one blemish, and De Bruin has been candid about its origins. "Maybe I didn't give 100 percent clarity on what I wanted on the field because I picked up that the leadership had a different system to what I had," he said. "But it's good that these things happen because there is a lot of pressure. It's something we can work on. I have to sit with the spine and the captain, and we must talk about the calling and plays."
De Bruin was effusive about the first half — "the best first half I have experienced with this team since I joined them" — but insists the squad must fix its second-half protocols before Saturday. "We have to work on finishing stronger. Our cleaners were a little bit late, so it's little technical stuff we can fix. I can't ask for more from them from a physical point of view."
The squad remains at their Sandton base this week before travelling to Pretoria for the series finale.