‘Our aim is to shock the world and beat England’: Bok women’s team

The opportunity to play the top ranked team in the world is massive, the chance to upset the proverbial apple cart is another. In short, their match against England at the Rugby World Cup in New Zealand is all about the Springbok Women’s desire to make a statement of their intent and continuous growth of the journey to become a top tier team at the next tournament.

That is the view of experienced scrumhalf Tayla Kinsey, one of four survivors of the 2014 Rugby World Cup, the last time the Springbok Women were part of the global showpiece, which is also when they scored their last victory at a Rugby World Cup, against Samoa in Marcoussis, France.

“The format was completely different, back then you also played for final placings, while this time around, we are in a knock-out scenario with four teams going home after the pool stages,” said Kinsey.

“That puts pressure on the less established teams like us, as every game is a must win for you.

“We are still looking for that win that could progress us into the top eight and facing England is certainly not the easiest of tasks awaiting us. It will confirm whether we will go home or not.

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“We need to shock the world and beat England in order for us to stay in the tournament, so that will be the first aim. The second, failing that, will be to still show the world what brand of rugby we can play and how competitive we can be. We need to know how far we have come as a team and England will show us.

“We are playing a group of superstars in the England squad, so the trick will be not to be over-awed by the status of your opponent, but to rather believe in the team effort,” she said, after the team’s loss to Fiji last Sunday.

“In the end, it will be a combined effort that will get us over the line, rather than individual ones. Each of us need to make sure we give our everything for the team and if we do, there will be a good game on offer.”