Johannes-Haupt teaching how to tackle Ferns

LAURIAN Johannes-Haupt feels when she faced up to the Black Ferns haka at the Women's Rugby World Cup back in 2010, the game was unrecognisable from the high-impact professional sport it has now transformed into.

- ZAAHIER ADAMS

The Springbok Women's assistant coach is the embodiment of change within the game after the 40-year-old swapped her classroom at Athlone High School in Cape Town for a Bok tracksuit on a fulltime basis at the beginning of the year. Johannes-Haupt can now focus on preparing the Boks for their clash against the Black Ferns XI in her hometown when the rivals meet at Athlone Stadium on Saturday.

"We played them in the 2010 World Cup and from where the game has gone to, there's been massive, massive improvements," Johannes-Haupt said, on the sidelines of the Boks training at UCT on Monday. "The game has evolved so much. The Black Ferns come with a special skill set. They play from all over the park. They have a good set piece as well. We're in for quite a good game and I think we're going to give them a good show."