Springbok Women test series against Japan
The Springbok Women will travel to the Far East next month for two historic tests against the Japanese national women's team, the Sakura Fifteen.
The tests are scheduled for July 24 in the Kamaishi Unosumai Memorial Stadium in Iwate, and on July 30 in Kumagaya Rugby Stadium in Saitama, in what will be the first tour of South Africa’s national women’s side to Japan.
The hosts are ranked twelfth and the Springbok Women 13th on World Rugby rankings.
The trip to the Far East was welcomed by SA Rugby’s high-performance manager for women’s rugby, Lynne Cantwell, who said the tour will be another step closer to preparing the squad for the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand.
“There are many reasons why we were glad to accept the invitation from Japan – the tour will give the squad that experience to play after travelling west to east, something they will experience when going to New Zealand in late September,” said Cantwell.
The Springbok women are in camp in Cape Town, where they beat Zimbabwe by 108-0 in their first match of the year. They will face Namibia on Thursday in the second of their Pool A matches in the Rugby Africa Women’s Cup.
The Sakura Fifteen’s team director, Keiko Asami, welcomed the matches, and said, “We’re pleased to be able to play test matches in front of our home fans as we prepare for Rugby World Cup in New Zealand in October. We would like to express our appreciation to all those who have worked hard to make these matches possible. “
“These test matches will be hugely important for our RWC preparations, not only for player selection, but also for the team experience, and for giving young and new players the chance to play at the highest level. Our recent victories over Fiji, the Australian Barbarians, and the Wallaroos have given us a great deal of confidence.”
