The Springbok Women got their 2025 Rugby Africa Women’s Cup opener against Uganda in Antananarivo, Madagascar, on Saturday off to a flyer with a comprehensive 62-7 victory over the Lady Cranes that featured several try-scoring debuts.
Lock Anathi Qolo captained the South African side that boasted a combined 174 caps.
And despite being expected to dominate the scrum with their powerful pack, the Ugandans more than held their own in that aspect of play. The swirling wind made line-out throw-ins and clearance kicks difficult for both teams, though.
The power of the SA pack was soon on display in the loose, however. Prop Xoliswa Khuzwayo and flank Lerato Makua were prominent, with strong, tackle-busting runs in midfield as the Bok Women kept the ball tight in the early exchanges.
It was a tactic that seemed to catch the Lady Cranes off guard as they scrambled on defence in the face of mismatches.
Qolo marked her debut as skipper with a fine opening try that was the result of sustained pressure on the Uganda tryline and quick ball through the hands, dotting down under the posts.
Springbok Women’s flyhalf Mary Zulu added the conversion (7-0).
Uganda were struggling to cope with the rush defence from the Springboks, who dominated the battle for territory and possession, as expected.
Bok Women’s fullback Byrhandrѐ Dolf was growing in influence as the half wore on. She showed great hands to set up winger Simamkhele Namba on the right wing to score in the corner (12-0). Zulu missed the conversion.
The Lady Cranes were forced increasingly onto the back foot. No 8 Faith Tshauke also opened her account on debut after a rolling maul off a line-out was briefly repelled by Uganda.
Uganda showed the intent to give the ball air on occasion, finding room out wide. But the Boks were in uncompromising mood on defence as they snuffed out any potential danger.
The Boks showed slick hands of their own, with the ball eventually ending up in Dolf’s hands as they attacked at pace. The skillful fullback sidestepped a few tackles before making the score 22-0. Zulu landed the conversion this time, to extend the lead (24-0).
The flyhalf struggled with her kicks for touch in the strong wind.
The discipline of the SA women was impressive, as they hardly gave any penalties away despite the ferociousness of their play in the loose and at the breakdown.
The Lady Cranes were competitive in the set pieces and loose play but lacked a cutting edge to threaten the Springbok Women’s tryline.
Makua finished off a period of steady SA pressure on the Uganda tryline, crashing over for the score with a few minutes left in the half. The SA side led 29-0 at the half-time break.
Tshauke stormed over the line, after picking the ball up off the back of a scrum 5m out, as the Women Boks started the second half where they left off in the first. Tshauke was having a barnstorming match and the Lady Cranes had no answer to her physicality.
Bulls Daisies flyer Patience Mokone showed off a wicked step outside her 22 that carved the Uganda defence wide open and galloped all the way to the tryline to score a brilliant solo try on debut. Zulu kicked the conversion (43-0).
Unam Tose’s pass in midfield was intercepted out of nowhere by Suzan Adong, who raced in to score as the Uganda Lady Cranes finally got on the scoreboard in the 51st minute (43-7).
The game then got scrappy in the next few minutes as unforced errors crept into both sides’ play.
Namba was yellow-carded for a dangerous tackle and the South Africans were reduced to 14 players. But the decision coincided with a period of attacking dominance from the Bok Women. Dolf was electric whenever she had the ball in hand. Sinothile Bhengu also had an immediate impact after coming off the bench.
SA relied increasingly on the rolling maul and an infringement by Uganda resulted in yellow. Bok centre Aphiwe Ngwevu then cantered over to score with the Cranes in disarray. Dolf kicked the conversion to take the score to 50-7 with 15 minutes to go in the match.
Sinothile Bengu also got her first Springbok Women’s try on debut.
A sharp start to the Rugby Africa Cup campaign! Our #BokWomen lay down a marker at the Stade Makis – match report: https://t.co/vSGgW4dtfV 😤#MakeItCount #ETTIG pic.twitter.com/fk0ok8TAVI
— SA Women’s Rugby (@WomenBoks) June 7, 2025
Midfielder Leigh Fortuin showed a great sidestep and perfect offload in the tackle to free up the lethal Mokone who cut inside off the right wing to bag her second try. The Uganda lady Cranes chased a consolation score but two try-saving tackles from Fortuin denied them as the match ended 62-7.
Springbok Women scorers:
Tries: Qolo, Namba, Tshauke (2), Dolf, Makua, Mokone (2), Ngwevu, Bengu,
Conversions: Zulu (4), Dolf, Tose
Uganda Women scorers:
Tries: Suzan Adong
Conversion: Bushira Namutebi
