SA Women’s Sevens on up ahead of crunch LA play-offs

THE Springbok Women’s Sevens squad are on a clear upward trajectory as they gear up for the biggest tournament of their season so far in their bid to return to the HSBC SVNS from the World Rugby Sevens Challenger Series.

- ROWAN CALLAGHAN

The HSBC SVNS play-off at Dignity Health Sports Park in Los Angeles will feature the top teams in the Challenger Series who will compete against the bottom four teams in the HSBC Sevens for four places in next season's main competition.

The South African women have shown steady improvement so far in the three Challenger series tournaments. They started the first tournament at the Athlone Stadium in Cape Town with bronze, before followin; that up with silver in the second roun at the same venue. Kenya won both the opening rounds.

However, they hit their straps with gold in the third Challenger Series tournament in Kraków, Poland. They beat Argentina 21-12 in the final, after exacting revenge on Kenya in the semi-final.

An extra cause for optimism in the South African squad is the inclusion of dual Springbok Simamkele Namba. The 26-year-old was a regular starter for the team during last season’s HSBC SVNS, but a serious knee injury sustained in Singapore ruled her out of rugby for almost a year.