Cape Town — “We are going to bring it.”
That is the attitude Springbok Women’s Sevens player Ayanda Malinga is going into the Rugby Cup Sevens with, and that confidence will be an asset against their first opponents at Cape Town Stadium on Friday.
The South Africans will face a massive challenge when they take on France in their opener, but the hosts aren’t backing down as they finalise their preparations for the tournament.
“We are going to bring it, people are doubting us, but we are going to bring it,” Malinga said.
“Our men (the Blitzboks) are going to make us proud, and we are playing after them, so that will give us confidence. It’s our home, so we need to go through.
“They (France) don’t know us, and we don’t know them. I feel like it’s going to be a tough game, to be honest.”
There are a number of players with fifteens experience in coach Paul Delport’s squad, and Malinga is one of the members who play in both codes.
That fifteens component is something she is seeing as a strength going into the weekend.
“They are going to be physical, we have seen their scrums, but so will we,” Malinga said.
“I feel like it’s an advantage. In fifteens you are in contact a lot, and while I feel like the two teams will balance it out, one needs to be better.”
But it’s not just physicality that the Springbok Women’s Sevens team can be confident in.
There is also a good amount of pace, with Nadine Roos being at the forefront of that.
Roos, one of the most experienced players in the squad, added that she wants to put her insight to good use, while she also plans on drawing energy from the Cape Town crowd.
“Just playing in a Cup is a massive positive. Being the hosts is already a massive boost, and you can see the vibe in the energy in the squad … the team is drawing from that,” Roos said.
“We know France will be very physical, but we will try and match that, especially with the girls we have coming back from fifteens. We also have some quick feet in our team and girls who can provide the finishing.
“Cape Town Stadium always brings big energy, and I want to feed off that this weekend.
“I have been playing Sevens for a while, so I just want to bring my experience and some calm to the team.”
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