Investment pays off as Bok Women reach RWC quarterfinal

Their Rugby World Cup performance was not by chance but by collaborative effort.

- By Keanan Hemmonsbey

South Africa's men’s rugby teams are the dominant forces across the competitions they compete in.

The Springbok men’s side are triple Rugby World Cup champions. The Springbok men’s Sevens side were crowned as the HSBC SVNS 2025 champions. And the Junior Springboks also claimed the World Rugby Under-20 Championship this year.

The national women’s side, on the other hand, both in 15s and in sevens, have always languished behind, but the sleeping giants of the women’s game are roaring to life for the first time at this year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup.

The Springbok Women qualified for the knockout stages of the biennial tournament for the first time in their history with a tightly fought 29-24 victory over Italy last weekend.

"We were seen as a minnow and suddenly it’s not the case any more," head coach Swys de Bruin said after his team’s historic win.

It was a victory of firsts for South Africa. The first time they won more than one match at the tournament, the first time they beat Italy and the first time they reached the quarterfinal stage of the Rugby World Cup.

In fact, across their four prior appearances at the showpiece event, they've only claimed one win before — a 15-10 victory over Wales in 2010.

To say their performance in 2025 is an improvement would be an understatement.

Regardless of what happens in their final group stage match against France and what is expected to be a quarterfinal clash against reigning champions New Zealand, the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup has been a successful one for South Africa.