The Springbok Women’s Sevens team got off to a flyer in their two group games at the 2025 Rugby Africa Women’s Sevens Cup at the RFUEA Grounds in Nairobi on Saturday, thrashing Mauritius 68-0 in their opener before dispatching Zimbabwe 45-0. The defending champions maintained their unbeaten run in the tournament and advanced to Sunday’s crucial knockout rounds.
They will have to win the tournament to be guaranteed the single available place in the SVNS Division Three Challenger tournament in January. A place in Sunday’s final will also be good enough to progress if Kenya also reach the decider, having already guaranteed their place in Division Two next season.
There were braces from Maria Tshiremba, Simamkele Namba, Vianca Boer and Patience Mokone in the 10-try rout of Mauritius. Their smothering defence also kept the Indian Ocean islanders penned back in their half for most of the match, and they pounced on errors with ruthless efficiency and great pace out wide from their speedsters.
Skipper Nadine Roos dictated play to perfection for the Bok Women, the veteran playmaker finding willing runners with precision passes and carving a hole in the defence with a deft show-and-go that resulted in a try, before she made way for Byrhandré Dolf early in the second half.
Roos also kicked all but one of her conversion attempts, while Dolf was flawless with her kicks. The Boks had led 33-0 at the break and refused to let up in the second stanza.
The South Africans seemed determined to give the ball more air in the second Pool A match, with Roos again showing off all her skills.
Some great stepping on the left by the skipper got the Bok Women off the mark early, before she converted her own try. A brilliant feed to Mamba in midfield then put SA 14-0 up, before the World Cup star showed plenty of gas as she ran the length of the field to give SA a 21-0 half-time lead.
Tshiremba got in on the act at the beginning of the second half, stretching the lead to 28-0 as coach Cecil Afrika rang the changes.
Lethal finisher Mokone danced past defenders for a dazzling late hat-trick of tries in a second-half cameo that took the final score to 45-0 as Zimbabwe wilted in the Nairobi sunshine.
