Libbie Janse van Rensburg happy to play musical chairs in Springbok Women backline
Image: Henk Kruger Independent Media
TALL, athletic, with her blonde pigtails hidden under a bucket hat, Libbie Janse van Rensburg is instantly recognisable at every Springbok Women's training. She's also usually the player calling the shots in every offensive move.
But of late, the Springbok flyhalf has been moved around the backline with coach Swys de Bruin still testing out combinations less than a month away from the Boks' Rugby World Cup opener against Brazil in Northampton.
Janse van Rensburg started at No 10 with Tayla Kinsey as her halfback partner against the Black Ferns XI last Saturday at the Athlone Stadium before De Bruin made a complete switch with Zintle Mpupha slotting into the flyhalf position along with Nadine Roos shifting from fullback to No 9 in the second half.
'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. 'But in the end, it's the whole connection of the backline that has to call that rush.'
The Black Ferns XV may have been a hastily assembled unit, but they certainly have a genuine playmaker in young Hannah King, who was desperately unlucky not to make the Black Ferns 32-player Rugby World Cup squad announced last Friday.
The young pivot certainly showed the Black Ferns selectors that she would be ready for a call-up should there be an injury in England with an assured performance at first five-eight as she set up her centre-pairing of Hollyrae Mete-Renata and Kelsey Teneti alongside for four tries on the night.
King's little pop passes to Mete-Renata were particularly telling with the hard-running No 12 directly attacking Janse van Rensburg defensive channel.
'That's why we're playing against opposition like that, because they put so much pressure on us. We're playing against the best that we can strive to become. I think it's been working for us,' she said.
'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.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
eNCA
an hour ago
- eNCA
Prosecutors call for PSG's Achraf Hakimi to face rape trial
PARIS - French prosecutors on Friday called for Paris Saint-Germain star Achraf Hakimi to face trial for the alleged rape of a woman in 2023 which the Moroccan international denies. The Nanterre prosecutor's office told AFP that they had requested that the investigating judge refer the rape charge to a criminal court. "It is now up to the investigating magistrate to make a decision within the framework of his order," the prosecutor's office told AFP in a statement. Hakimi, 26, played a major role in PSG's run to their first Champions League title, the full-back scoring the opener in the 5-0 rout of Inter Milan in the final in May. Hakimi, who helped Morocco to their historic progress to the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup, was charged in March, 2023 with raping a 24-year-old woman. Hakimi allegedly paid for his accuser to travel to his home on February 25, 2023, in the Paris suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt while his wife and children were away on holiday. The woman went to a police station following the encounter alleging rape and was questioned by police. Although the woman refused to make a formal accusation, prosecutors decided to press charges against the player. She told police at the time that she had met Hakimi in January 2023 on Instagram. On the night in question she said she had travelled to his house in a taxi paid for by Hakimi. She told police Hakimi had started kissing her and making non-consensual sexual advances, before raping her, a police source told AFP at the time. She said she managed to break free to text a friend who came to pick her up. 'Attempted extortion' Contacted by AFP after Friday's development Hakimi's lawyer Fanny Colin described the call by prosecutors for a trial as "incomprehensible and senseless in light of the case's elements". "We, along with Achraf Hakimi, remain as calm as we were at the start of the proceedings. "If these requisitions were to be followed, we would obviously pursue all avenues of appeal," she continued. According to Colin, her client had "been the target of an attempted extortion". "Nothing in this case suggests an attempted extortion," Rachel-Flore Pardo, the lawyer representing the woman, said. "My client welcomes this news with immense relief," she told AFP. "We will not tolerate any smear or destabilisation campaign, as is unfortunately still too often the case for women who have the courage to report the rape of which they are victims," she added. The son of a cleaning lady and a street vendor, both Moroccans who have lived in Spain since the 1980s, Hakimi was born in Getafe, a southern suburb of Madrid. Hakimi came through the youth system at Real Madrid before joining Bundesliga side Borussia Dortmund in 2018. He went on to make 73 appearances for the German club. He moved to Inter Milan in 2020 and then on to PSG in 2021 where he has established himself as an integral part of the team. In Qatar, Hakimi was a cornerstone of the Morocco team that became the first African or Arab nation to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup.
IOL News
2 hours ago
- IOL News
Carlos Spencer fears for All Blacks' unbeaten record at Eden Park as Springboks await
All Blacks flyhalf Carlos Spencer played touch rugby in Cape Town this week at a Real Madrid Foundation Educational Football Programme and Generation Schools charity event. It's been 31 years since the All Blacks last suffered defeat at their Eden Park fortress. The 23-20 loss to France on July 3, 1994, featured one of the most iconic tries in rugby history, known as 'the try from the end of the world.' That try, scored four minutes from the end of the Test, originated deep in France's own half. Legendary wing and captain Philippe Saint-André started a counterattack, running the ball from 80 metres out. The ball passed through nine pairs of hands in just 27 seconds before reaching fullback Jean-Luc Sadourny, who dotted down. It's still regarded as one of the most beautifully conceived tries in the history of the game. Since that iconic match against the French, the All Blacks have gone 50 matches without defeat at the Auckland venue, with 48 wins and two draws. Former maverick flyhalf Carlos Spencer played in many of those triumphant Tests for the All Blacks between 1994 and 2005, orchestrating some of the team's most remarkable attacking displays. However, Spencer fears that this record could be in jeopardy in 2025, when the world champion Springboks visit Eden Park for the Rugby Championship next month. The Springboks, who have beaten the All Blacks in their last four meetings, haven't played at Eden Park since 2013 and will be eager to make more history under Rassie Erasmus. The teams will meet at Eden Park on September 6, with the second match of that mini-tour to be played in Wellington a week later. While Eden Park isn't a hostile or intimidating venue, Spencer says the history that the All Blacks have built there is always in the back of visiting teams' minds. But he believes the all-conquering Boks could put that record to the test. 'I don't think it's intimidating — it's just the history of Eden Park, the All Blacks not losing a Test match there (since 1994). Teams think about that a lot,' Spencer said during a Generation Schools charity event in Cape Town. 'When you look at where South Africa is at the moment … if there's a team that can break that history, it's the Springboks. And it could happen this year. 'Fingers crossed it doesn't happen!' the former Auckland Blues playmaker added. The Springboks came from behind to beat the All Blacks twice last year at home, extending their winning streak over New Zealand to four matches, including their victory in the Rugby World Cup final in Paris. Meanwhile, the All Blacks started their season with a 3-0 series win over a spirited French side, despite France missing many of their key players.
The South African
3 hours ago
- The South African
How to watch Paarl Gimnasium vs Paarl Boys' High
The two standout rugby schools in South Africa in 2025 - Paarl Gimnasium and Paarl Boys' High - will clash on Saturday. Image: Premier Interschools Home » How to watch Paarl Gimnasium vs Paarl Boys' High The two standout rugby schools in South Africa in 2025 - Paarl Gimnasium and Paarl Boys' High - will clash on Saturday. Image: Premier Interschools The Springboks won't be in action for another couple of weeks, but if anyone needs any reminding of how much talent and passion run through all levels of the game, they would do well to observe how Paarl will become the centre of attention for the iconic Paarl Gimnasium vs Paarl Boys' High schoolboy derby on Saturday. This remains a major attraction on the rugby calendar every year, and kick off has been confirmed for 16:00. For those who can't be there in person, the match will be screened live on SuperSport channel 216. This year's match will be played in front of a packed stadium, with about 20,000 fans expected, and Paarl Gimnasium director of rugby Pieter Rossouw has likened preparations for Saturday's interschools clash against Paarl Boys' to that of a World Cup. 'For many of the boys, this is the biggest game of their rugby career. It's something they've been dreaming about for a long time,' Rossouw said at a pre-match press conference. 'I think you can compare it to the journey of a World Cup tournament, where guys prepare for four years to play in that final. Similarly, boys come into school in Grade 8 and dream of playing for the 1st XV in that particular [interschools] game.' Meanwhile, Paarl Boys' coach Sean Erasmus believes Saturday's showdown will shine a light on the incredible pool of talent at schoolboy level. 'Among the 30 boys who will play, I believe there could very well be three or four future Springboks,' he said. Erasmus added that Boishaai had learned from last year's disappointing 30-8 defeat to Gimmies. 'We conceded 30 points in the interschools last year and afterwards we talked to each other about how it was an important lesson and what we could take from it. 'It's nice to see how the boys who are now in matric have grown as people.' Let us know by leaving a comment below, or send a WhatsApp to 060 011 0211. Subscribe to The South African website's newsletters and follow us on WhatsApp, Facebook, X and Bluesky for the latest news.
