Franzel September highlights key role for Rugby Africa Women's Cup in Bok World Cup plan
For Springbok Women's assistant coach Franzel September, the forthcoming Rugby Africa Women's Cup is vital preparation for the World Cup, not just an unwelcome distraction on the road to the showpiece in England in August and September.
It is also an opportunity for those on the fringes of selection to make a late push for inclusion in the World Cup squad.
The Springboks jet off to Madagascar tomorrow to take part in the tournament at Stade Makis in Antananarivo that also features the hosts, Uganda and Kenya. The South African women open the tournament with a match against Uganda in Saturday.
"This is all part of our prep for the World Cup, this is our next stop," September said. "In the last few years that we've travelled to Madgascar it wasn't easy – an away game is never easy – but we try to stick to what works for us.
"It will always be a challenge playing in Africa. The conditions are different. I can remember that you need to travel about 20 or 30 minutes to get to the playing field so it's always a challenge. But we're up for the challenge because we know that we need to get past that. So it's important for us to stay glued to our systems."
September lists the recent European tour and the coming matches against Canada and the Black Ferns as other World Cup building blocks.
"If you look at our squad we've got eight players that have played in the previous World Cup, so we're excited to see what they can do. Every opportunity we can get for playing minutes is important, especially for the women's game."
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