The Springbok Women’s Sevens team are currently participating in a training camp in Stellenbosch, in preparation for the 2024 Olympic qualifiers in November, said Cecil Afrika, assistant coach for the team.
The camp will run from 2 to 11 August at the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport, with some training sessions taking place at the Paul Roos Gimnasium Markötter Sports Grounds, according to Afrika.
After the Olympic Qualifiers in November, the Springbok Women’s Sevens rugby team will turn their focus towards the HSBC SVNS Series, in December where they will compete against the best teams in the world. This was according to Mathrin Simmers (pictured above), co-captain of the team. PHOTO: Amy Cloete
An incomplete squad
Currently, only nine players are at the camp as the rest of the squad is competing in the 15-a-side Women’s Premier Division, explained Afrika. Approximately 12 more members will regroup with the squad in September for the next training camp, stated Afrika.
Not having the full squad present is challenging, but the coaching staff aims to ensure that everyone is on the same level once they are all together, said Afrika.
“The goal [of the camp] is to make sure that the [present] squad can push [the absent players] to make them understand this is the standard that we [expect],” explained Afrika.
Among the nine players that are currently present, five are new developmental players, who are yet to debut for the national side, said Mathrin Simmers, co-captain for the women’s sevens team. The remaining four players form part of the senior team, stated Simmers.
A few training camps were held for developmental players entering the Springbok Women’s Sevens rugby team before the current training camp being held in Stellenbosch from 2 to 11 August, said Cecil Afrika, assistant coach of the team. Pictured above is Bianca Augustyn, a senior member of the team and Maties Women’s Rugby team captain. PHOTO: Amy Cloete
Trading maroon for green and gold
Three Maties rugby players are in the training squad. This includes Bianca Augustyn, captain of the Maties Women’s Rugby team, stated Augustyn. The other two Maties players are Ankia Viljoen and Elitha Sylvester, said J.J. Harmse, Springbok Sevens media manager.
“At Maties I worked from the bottom to the top in order to be seen for the national team, and now I’m here,” explained Augustyn
Back in camp
The first day of the camp included drills that emphasised slow skills, which then progressed to static skills. The session concluded with conditioning exercises, she explained.
“It’s been a while since we played [in] the [World Rugby Sevens] Challenger Series, and it is still early days but we’re quite excited to play,” stated Simmers.
The Springbok Women’s Sevens rugby team is currently participating in a training camp that is focusing on basic skills to ensure the team has a strong foundation to work off of, according to Cecil Afrika, assistant coach of the team. Speaking in the video is Mathrin Simmers, co-captain of the team. VIDEO: Amy Cloete