Bok Women’s ‘Operation Spain’ under way in Alicante
It’s going to come down to the team that executes best, says SA coach
15 April 2025 - 15:26
by Sports staff
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Springbok Women’s high-performance coach Swys de Bruin during a field training session in Cape Town. Picture: ASHLEY VLOTMAN
Having arrived safely in Alicante, Spain, from France on Sunday, the Springbok Women had a productive first training session on Monday and, according to performance coach Swys de Bruin, “Operation Spain” is now officially under way.
De Bruyn was happy with the energy and clarity at the team’s first hit-out for the weekend’s Test, to be played at Campo de Rugby Amorós Palao in nearby Elche on Saturday, and said it boded well for SA’s expected effort in six days.
“You could feel the buzz at breakfast already this morning, everyone is keen to go, and the players are excited for this week,” De Bruyn said.
“Since we arrived and started with our team meetings and now training, all the focus is on Spain and their strengths and weaknesses.
“We left what happened in Marcoussis — good as it was — behind in France and came to Spain with this Test match in mind.”
The Springbok Women and Spain have played each other five times in the past three years, and though De Bruin recognised they are aware of each other’s game plans, some things will have changed.
SA won the last encounter at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town in September 2024 by 36-19.
“Conditions will be different, the venue will be different, and players change, so the main focus for us on Saturday will be effort and execution,” he said.
“They had some additions to their squad since we last played, so we are expecting some changes from their side, but then, we are also looking for improvement and tweaks in certain areas.
“One thing I have learnt in Test rugby is that the previous game does not count for the next one.
“We are quite close to each other on the world ranking as well, so it will come down to the team that executes the best on the day.”
De Bruin wanted urgency in the training sessions to give them the edge.
“We need to make sure we get the 50-50s going our way.
“The girls want to go out and play, and if we can clinically do that, we will all be smiling at the end of the match.
“It will be a new match with fresh challenges.
“Like our players, the Spain team will also play to cement their positions in their Rugby World Cup squad for later this year, so this match will have its own merits.”
Support our award-winning journalism. The Premium package (digital only) is R30 for the first month and thereafter you pay R129 p/m now ad-free for all subscribers.
Bok Women’s ‘Operation Spain’ under way in Alicante
It’s going to come down to the team that executes best, says SA coach
Having arrived safely in Alicante, Spain, from France on Sunday, the Springbok Women had a productive first training session on Monday and, according to performance coach Swys de Bruin, “Operation Spain” is now officially under way.
De Bruyn was happy with the energy and clarity at the team’s first hit-out for the weekend’s Test, to be played at Campo de Rugby Amorós Palao in nearby Elche on Saturday, and said it boded well for SA’s expected effort in six days.
“You could feel the buzz at breakfast already this morning, everyone is keen to go, and the players are excited for this week,” De Bruyn said.
“Since we arrived and started with our team meetings and now training, all the focus is on Spain and their strengths and weaknesses.
“We left what happened in Marcoussis — good as it was — behind in France and came to Spain with this Test match in mind.”
The Springbok Women and Spain have played each other five times in the past three years, and though De Bruin recognised they are aware of each other’s game plans, some things will have changed.
SA won the last encounter at the DHL Stadium in Cape Town in September 2024 by 36-19.
“Conditions will be different, the venue will be different, and players change, so the main focus for us on Saturday will be effort and execution,” he said.
“They had some additions to their squad since we last played, so we are expecting some changes from their side, but then, we are also looking for improvement and tweaks in certain areas.
“One thing I have learnt in Test rugby is that the previous game does not count for the next one.
“We are quite close to each other on the world ranking as well, so it will come down to the team that executes the best on the day.”
De Bruin wanted urgency in the training sessions to give them the edge.
“We need to make sure we get the 50-50s going our way.
“The girls want to go out and play, and if we can clinically do that, we will all be smiling at the end of the match.
“It will be a new match with fresh challenges.
“Like our players, the Spain team will also play to cement their positions in their Rugby World Cup squad for later this year, so this match will have its own merits.”
Head-to-head:
Aug 17 2014 (Paris): Spain 36 SA 0
Nov 17 2018 (Villajoyosa): Spain 17 SA 5
Sept 21 2019 (Despatch): SA 12 Spain 29
Aug 13 2022 (Johannesburg): SA 44 Spain 5
Aug 19 2022 (Potchefstroom): SA 37 Spain 14
Apr 1 2023 (Madrid): Spain 20 SA 35
Mar 23 2024 (Valladolid): Spain 13 SA 15
Sept 19 2024 (Cape Town): SA 36 Spain 19.
SA Rugby Communications
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