Springbok Women's Sevens Ready for Russian Rush

Cape Town – The Team Springbok Women's Sevens has a plan and will to beat Russia when both teams open their Rugby World Cup campaigns on Friday at AT & T Park in San Francisco.

The Springbok Women's Captain at Seven Zintle Mpupha stated that they were well prepared for this match and that they were eager to start, despite the odds against them against one of the favorites of the tournament.

"Russia is one of the best teams in the World Rugby Women's Rugby Sevens, and it played very well in the series," said Mpupha.

"We are not new to the World Series, so we do not have the advantage of regular tournament competition, but we have trained hard because we want to compete against teams with a basic status, like Russia

"We want to play against these teams and we want to try to beat them. It is a clear goal of the team. We have worked hard for this opportunity at Rugby World Cup 7 and will make a determined effort to deliver a performance to justify our hard work. "

Another member of the team, Christelene Steinhobel, agreed with his captain and reiterated plan for the Russians.

" We did a few sessions looking at their way of playing and we decided how we wanted to play against them, "said Steinhobel.

" I think our set phases are better than theirs and we will also be looking to create width on the outside, where we have dangerous runners like Nadine Roos.

"We have a plan on where to attack them and this will involve direct operation.But the crucial aspect will be the defensive effort.We must put them under pressure with a huge defensive effort if we want to disrupt them. "

This will be a special occasion for the experienced Zenay Jordaan who will play in his third rugby world. Cup Sevens tournament for South Africa – the first player to be part of the three consecutive RWC7s.

Mathilde Simmers will play at her second tournament at this level, while the rest of the team will debut at the Rugby World Cup Seven in San Francisco.

Buhle Sonomzi, Snenhlanhla Shozi, Kimico Manuel and Babalwa Latsha will play for Springbok's women's rugby sevens for the first time.

The match against Russia, which will be broadcast on SuperSport 1, starts at 19:44 on Friday.

The Springbok Women's Sevens Team:

1. Marithy Pienaar

2. Christelene Steinhobel

3. Buhle Sonomzi

4. Babalwa Latsha

5. Zinhle Ndawonde

6. Mathrin Simmers

7. Zenay Jordaan

8. Zintle Mpupha (captain)

9. Eloise Webb

10. Nadine Roos

11. Snenhlanhla Shozi

12. Kimico Manuel