Spirited Springbok Women beaten by Canada in Pretoria
The Springbok Women looked competitive in the second half but lacked consistency across the full 80 minutes. Canada punished every South African error, illustrating why they remain one of the world's strongest teams.
Canada opened the scoring in the sixth minute through Daleaka Menin, before the Springbok Women responded with a penalty by Jakkie Cilliers. But restart errors and soft defence allowed Canada to surge ahead with three more converted tries – from Fancy Bermudez, Flo Symonds, and Laetitia Royer – for a 26–3 halftime lead.
The Springbok Women started the second half strongly, as Cilliers finished a slick break for a converted try. Canada hit back again through Alysha Corrigan, who scored twice within 10 minutes to extend their lead to 38–10. South Africa's backline reshuffle added spark, and Byrhandre Dolf scored after a solid midfield scrum.
Sizo Solontsi crossed from a driving maul to narrow the gap to 38–20. But Canada closed out confidently, with Symonds and Caroline Crossley adding two late tries to cap a clinical win.
South Africa can draw confidence from their second-half performance and improved structure after personnel changes. However, their first-half indiscipline and error rate proved costly. They must bring full-match discipline if they hope to challenge strong sides at Test level. Canada, on the other hand, showed ruthless efficiency and composure throughout. The Springbok Women now regroup ahead of next Saturday's second Test in Gqeberha.
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