Springbok Women head coach Swys de Bruin has expressed satisfaction with his team's overall progress after their two-test series against the USA Eagles Women ended level, with each side winning one match. The series concluded with a 26-19 defeat at Loftus Versfeld on Saturday.
"If you asked me two months ago if I will accept a drawn series, I would have taken it," said De Bruin. "After today, where we did not play our best rugby, I am still pleased with the progress. We were one try away from drawing the match and the fightback we showed was very pleasing."
De Bruin pinpointed the breakdown as the primary area of concern, with his side repeatedly penalised in that phase and unable to generate sustained momentum. "Maybe our support players did not arrive in time or maybe they got lucky, but the bottom line was that it robbed us of momentum and we just could not get going. It was frustrating, but it is something we can fix."
He drew a pointed contrast with the team's position twelve months ago, when Canada beat them at the same venue. "The progress is real and we can feel it," he said, adding that the players' refusal to accept defeat marked a shift in mentality. "The days of us accepting defeat are gone and I love that attitude."
Babalwa Latsha echoed that sentiment. "We certainly are on an upward curve since the Women's Rugby World Cup and we are starting to believe. Today's result was marginal and we showed over the last two weeks that we can compete with the top sides in the world."
The squad returns to their Stellenbosch base after a short rest before departing on a two-test tour to Fiji in August.