Dazel targets strong start to new season
Springbok Women’s Sevens coach Renfred Dazel said on Sunday he hoped his SA Select team would record a strong start to the new season at the Emirates Airlines Dubai Rugby Sevens as they prepared to depart for the desert city.
The team will face the Canada Maple Leafs, Belgium Rugby Sevens and the Tabusoro Angels International in the pool stages of the tournament on Thursday, 3 December. The knock-out rounds are scheduled for Friday.
The SA Select team will enter the competition with confidence following a triumphant Rugby Africa Women’s Sevens Olympic Qualifier in September, where they won all six of their matches, scored a total of 265 points scored and conceded only one try. The victory allowed them to meet the criteria to qualify for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
“We had a good break after the Olympic Qualifier, so the players are ready mentally and physically for the challenge in Dubai,” said Dazel.
“This may be an invitational tournament, but many of the participating teams consist of fringe players from the top countries or they are national teams for the countries who have not qualified for the World Rugby Women’s World Series, so it will be a tough competition.
“We believe this will be a good test to see how much our side has improved since our debut season as a core team on the World Series last season.
“With all the lessons learned last year, hopefully we can advance to the Semi-final or Final, although the ultimate achievement would be to win the tournament.”
Dazel was excited to see how the new players in the squad, debutante Chané Stadler, Lamla Momoti and Nomsa Mokwai, who joined the team earlier this week after excelling at the SARU Interprovincial Sevens tournament and the Springbok Women’s Sevens trials, would react to the challenge in Dubai.
“The new players have slotted in well and I am pleased with the speed at which they familiarised themselves with the structures and patters,” said the coach.
“So I am looking forward to seeing them in action. That said, the senior players will play an important role in guiding them, and as a management team we hope to see a fantastic team effort throughout the tournament.”
South Africa Pool fixtures on Thursday, 3 December (SA Time):
07h00 – SA Select vs Canada Maple Leafs
10h00 – SA Select vs Tabusoro Angels International
12h34 – SA Select vs Belguim Rugby Sevens
SA Select team for Dubai Rugby Sevens:
Lorinda Brown
Phumeza Gadu
Rachelle Geldenhuys
Nosiphiwo Goda
Veroeshka Grain
Zenay Jordaan (captain)
Nomsa Mokwai
Lamla Momoti
Sinazo Nobele
Marithy Pienaar
Mathrin Simmers
Chané Stadler
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