Springbok Women experiment with Nadine Roos at scrumhalf for second Canada Test
Springboks Women Performance coach Swys de Bruin has moved Byrhandré Dolf and Eloise Webb from the bench into the starting line-up for the second Test against Canada on Saturday in Gqeberha.
The Bok Women are hoping to redeem themselves after a 50-20 thumping last week in Pretoria at the hands of the Canadians in what served as the curtain-raiser for the Springboks Men's Test against Italy.
Dolf will be playing at fullback and Webb will assume the flyhalf role for the second Test, which kicks off at 1.30pm at the Nelson Mandela Bay Stadium. It will be the first time both players will play in those positions.
In a surprise move, Nadine Roos has also shuffled around and will play at scrumhalf instead of fullback. Libbie Janse van Rensburg will play inside centre after starting at flyhalf in Pretoria.
Upfront, Catha Jacobs will pack down on the side of the scrum, while the front five remain unchanged for the second test.
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IOL News
11 hours ago
- IOL News
Libbie Janse van Rensburg happy to play musical chairs in Springbok Women backline
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'I think it's exciting, especially for me. I've been playing at 10 for a very long time,' Janse van Rensburg told the media at UCT on Monday. 'I like the challenge of having to play at different positions as well. Although I find comfort in playing at 10, I know what's expected of me. It's also good to test yourself as a player so you don't become too complacent. 'As we saw in the second half of the last game, the coaches will make positions and sometimes put you in a position that maybe you haven't trained at or maybe you haven't had a run there. I's good for us all to be able to slot into any position. Video Player is loading. Play Video Play Unmute Current Time 0:00 / Duration -:- Loaded : 0% Stream Type LIVE Seek to live, currently behind live LIVE Remaining Time - 0:00 This is a modal window. Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window. Text Color White Black Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Background Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Opaque Semi-Transparent Transparent Window Color Black White Red Green Blue Yellow Magenta Cyan Transparency Transparent Semi-Transparent Opaque Font Size 50% 75% 100% 125% 150% 175% 200% 300% 400% Text Edge Style None Raised Depressed Uniform Dropshadow Font Family Proportional Sans-Serif Monospace Sans-Serif Proportional Serif Monospace Serif Casual Script Small Caps Reset restore all settings to the default values Done Close Modal Dialog End of dialog window. Advertisement Next Stay Close ✕ Ad loading 'Like I say, anything happens at a World Cup. Anyone can pick up an injury and then you're going to have to adapt to it. I think it's good for our girls to play in those different positions. 'For me, I'm just doing whatever the coach wants me to do. Whatever he thinks is best for the team is where I'm at. I'm comfortable at 10, I'm comfortable at 12, comfortable at 15. So, like I say, whatever he makes the call. 'I think the team is very comfortable with me at 10. I think they find good cohesion around me at 10. So yeah, wherever the coach puts me at the end of the day, I'm happy to serve the team.' While De Bruin has stressed throughout the team's build-up to next month's Rugby World Cup that he is comfortable switching the players around in the backline as he believes they all have the similar attacking skill-sets, the constant rotation of roles can disrupt the defensive alignment, which the Black Ferns XV capitalised on by exploiting the spaces out wide when the Boks rushed up in defence last Saturday. Van Rensburg feels that this is not entirely due to the halfback pairing being chopped and changed as the responsibility lies with the centres to organise the players on defence. 'So, the rush defence comes more from our 12-13 channels,' she said. 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'I had a bit of a chat with her (King) afterwards and she said, well done to our team and what we brought to them. We also tested them. 'I think it's so good for us to be playing against girls like that. They constantly trained at such a high level. It's a great opportunity for us. 'I think the preparations are going really well. We've been building such solid foundations throughout the last three games and I think it's absolutely great for us to have this kind of preparation leading into a World Cup.'

IOL News
2 days ago
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The South African
2 days ago
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Spirited Springbok Women show promise in agonising defeat to Black Ferns
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