Bok Women’s Sevens unleash star power for high-stakes continental showdown

With so much riding on the Rugby Africa Women’s Sevens championship in Nairobi, Kenya, next weekend, it is no wonder the Springbok Women’s Sevens team is trotting out the big guns for the regional tournament that offers a shot at redemption … or a step closer to it.

The Bok Women need a top-two finish to qualify for the 2026 World Rugby HSBC Sevens Challenger Series, and are taking no chances in their bid to get back to the HSBC SVNS top table – having lost their core status at the end of the 2024 season.

SA Rugby Women’s Player of the Year, Nadine Roos, a star of sevens and fifteens rugby, is among the stellar names selected for a training camp to prepare for the continental championship.

She has been joined in the training squad by Zintle Mpupha, Byrhandrè Dolf, Ayanda Malinga, Lerato Makua and Faith Tshauke, who were all her teammates at the recent Women’s Rugby World Cup in England, where the Bok Women qualified for the quarter-finals for the first time.

Cecil Afrika, who has been part of the coaching set-up since 2023, will lead the the team in the absence of Renfred Dazel, who is helping Blitzbok head coach Philip Snyman in the 2025/26 HSBC SVNS.

The group has a familiar look to it, as Shiniqwa Lamprecht, Leigh Fortuin, Simamkele Namba, Patience Mokone, Alicia Willemse and Maria Tshiremba are back having played in the team’s last outing, the HSBC SVNS Play-Off tournament held in Los Angeles in May. 

That tournament ended in heartbreak for the Springbok Women’s Sevens team, when a late defeat against Kenya consigned them to the regional route to qualify for the new second-tier competition in 2026, with China, Brazil, Argentina and Spain progressing to the HSBC SVNS from the LA tournament.

There is also a welcome return for Liske Lategan and Shannon-Lee Windvogel, who are back after recovering from long-term injuries. The UP-Tuks duo of Thandi Fudu and Jane Mulder were also invited to the week-long camp following their tournament winning performances at the USSA Sevens, won by Tuks Women.

A squad of 12 players will depart for Kenya next week Wednesday. South Africa will face Zambia, Ghana and Egypt in Pool A of the tournament.

Kenya, Tunisia, Zimbabwe and Burkina Faso will contest Pool B and Uganda, Madagascar, Mauritius and Cote d’Ivoire will play in Pool C. 

Meanwhile, two former Springbok Women’s players, Laurian Johannes-Haupt and Zenay Jordaan, are in line to complete the World Rugby Level 3 Coaching Course next week in Cape Town, where SA Rugby’s Participation and Development Department will be hosting the second phase of the programme for coaches from South Africa, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Uganda, Zambia, and Namibia.

The initiative aims to significantly increase the number of World Rugby Level 3-accredited coaches in Southern Africa, with a particular focus on empowering women coaches. The first phase was held in November last year.

Both women were involved with the Bok Women at the World Cup in England – Johannes-Haupt is one of the assistant coaches, while Jordaan accompanied the team to England as part of World Rugby’s Gallagher High Performance Academy programme.

Springbok Women’s Sevens training squad:

Forwards: Shiniqwa Lamprecht, Leigh Fortuin, Liske Lategan, Zintle Mpupha, Asisipho Plaatjies, Faith Tshauke, Lerato Makua, Thandi Fudu.

Backs: Nadine Roos, Vianca Boer, Simamkele Namba, Maria Tshiremba, Patience Mokone, Ayanda Malinga, Byrhandrè Dolf, Shannon Windvogel, Alicia Willemse, Jane Mulder.