Johannesburg – The Springbok women play their “final” on Sunday against Fiji, the one team they have a realistic chance of beating in Pool C of the World Cup in New Zealand.
Long before the tournament kicked off, the South Africans would have looked at their pool and accepted that it was highly unlikely they could beat title favourites England and also France (ranked fourth in the world while the Boks are 11th). But Fiji are ranked 21st and this is the one game the Boks can definitely win.
This was emphasised after the first round in which France beat South Africa 40-5 and England annihilated Fiji 84-19.
Despite the score line against France, the Bok women in fact played above themselves and will take a lot of confidence into the Fiji match, which is scheduled for 6.45am (SA time) on Sunday.
“The stats speak volumes of our effort,” says utility forward Catha Jacobs. “We had 49% possession and 17.1 attacking minutes, compared to France's 51% and 17.6 attacking minutes.
“Yes, France did use their opportunities so much better, especially in the first 20 minutes when they scored three tries, but we came back into the game and that was a very pleasing aspect.”
Jacobs, who recently signed a contract extension with Saracens in England, played 17 minutes against France and said she was keen to have a go at Fiji.
“We have never played Fiji, so we are expecting the unexpected to be honest,” she said.
“We know they can be unpredictable, and they scored some nice tries against England, but they cannot play without the ball, it is as simple as that. If we can dominate up front and dictate play, we will do well.”
Jacobs said her team must build on the positives from the France game.
“We dominated the set pieces against France,” she said. “We had the upper hand in the scrums and line-outs and managed to sack their rolling maul a couple of times.
“Sadly, they scored some tries through individual defensive lapses, something we will have to do better, as Fiji have some destructive runners in their side.
“We conceded fewer penalties than France. They conceded more because they were under pressure from our forwards,” she said.
“More of that will again give us a solid foundation to play from. We need to keep the ball away from their dangerous backs.”
A bonus point win over Fiji will be crucial for their ambitions in the remainder of the competition, said Jacobs.
“Yes, we must get the full house if we want to stay on track for a potential top 8 finish, so we need to go out there and make sure we get the four tries and then secure the win,” she said.
“That will put us in a much better position on the log. We are in 10th at the moment, so a good performance against Fiji will push us up the ladder in the right direction.”
IOL Sport