Springbok Women’s coach Lawrence Sephaka on Thursday named five debutants in his 23-member squad to face France in Marcoussis on Friday.
This will be the final match on their Rugby World Cup warm-up tour following back-to-back victories over the Nomads.
Uncapped fullback Cindy Cant, wing Nosiphiwo Goda and flank Rachelle Geldenhuys were named in the starting team, while replacement loose forward Shona-Leah Weston and fullback Siviwe Basweni will start on the bench.
“We were very impressed with the way these players performed against the Nomads and we believe that they are ready for Test rugby,” said Sephaka.
“This experience will benefit them immensely going into the Rugby World Cup, especially since the quality and tempo of the clash against France will be higher than that against the Nomads.
“This is a fantastic opportunity for the players to prove their worth.”
Sephaka is confident that his team will be up for the challenge after two solid performances against the Nomads, but believes facing the World Cup hosts will be a tougher test.
“France proved in the Women’s Six Nations what a talented unit they are, so we expect them to come out firing on Friday,” he said.
“They are very physical and they target the set pieces to gain ascendency, so we are anticipating a massive forward battle. Over and above this they have skilful and fast backs, so we will be tested in all areas.
“That said, the Nomads played a similar style of rugby to that which we expect from France, so those matches served as ideal preparation.
“We have worked hard on the areas of our game that let us down in those matches and we hope to see the team improve on their performance on Friday.”
Springbok Women vs France:
15 – Cindy Cant, 14 – Nosiphiwo Goda, 13 – Veroeshka Grain, 12 – Lorinda Brown, 11 – Phumeza Gadu, 10 – Zenay Jordaan, 9 – Fundiswa Plaatjie, 8 – Lamla Momoti (captain), 7 – Vuyolwethu Vazi, 6 – Rachelle Geldenhuys, 5 – Nolusindiso Booi, 4 – Nomathamsanqa Faleni, 3 – Portia Jonga, 2 – Thantaswa Macingwana, 1 – Nwabisa Ngxatu
Replacements:
16 – Denita Wentzel, 17 – Cebisa Ncula, 18 – Asithandile Ntoyanto, 19 – Celeste Adonis, 20 – Shona-Leah Weston, 21 – Tayla Kinsey, 22 – Zandile Nojoko, 23 – Siviwe Basweni
