This was much more than an hors-d’oeuvre before the 6 Nations tests took over on Saturday afternoon. A thoroughly entertaining match in sunny Madrid saw the Springboks come back from a pummeling by Canada last week to defeat the hosts 35-20.
They had beaten Las Leonas twice at home last year, but playing in Europe after that earlier setback would be a true test of their standing.
Playing into the strong breeze at the start they showed where their greatest strength was to lie, up front. A clinically organised catch and drive saw the hooker Lindelwa Gwala over the line.
Spain countered quickly with a series of drives. This time their hooker, skipper Cristina Blanco, scored the points
Is it time for the wingers’ union to put in an official complaint to the law-makers? Why are they being deprived of their scoring-rights by these upstart No 2s?
As the game took shape, the Boks impressed with their power and organisation up front. Out behind fly-half Libbie van Rensburg stood out in all phases except place-kicking. The wind enjoyed playing tricks on her.
Time and again Spanish raids were undone by thunderous tackles that stopped quick repossessions. In this area of the game the Boks’ No 8 Aseza Hele proved desperately hard to bring down. She fought off tackle after tackle, forcing the defence to cede ground and expend precious energy.
Cristina Pena kicked a penalty to put the hosts in front but from there the Boks had the upper hand. Another monster scrum led to a fine try by Shaunique Hess. Babalwas Latsha crashed over from short range. A yellow for Ines Antolinez proved costly. Spain opted for eight in a scrum, and van Rendsburg cut through a rearranged line to gallop to the line.
Half-time 22-10 to the visitors.
With the wind in their favour after the break, they must have fancied their chances. But Pena made another delightful break from a tap penalty to close the gap to seven.
Kasandra Sylla had a good moment when she charged down a clearance kick from Tayla Kinsey. She showed good footballing skills to control the ball over the line.
But powerful rugby was the winner in the end. This was a very young Spanish side, so they and their management needn’t be too despondent about the result. More time together and more tests will see their promise bloom.
For South Africa this was a great way to end their stay in Europe. Now they return to Africa where they are likely to find the competition quite a bit less taxing
Geographically the two nations are far apart; in rugby terms they are neck and neck. This result leaves them 3-3 in victories; the average score before this game was – believe it or not – 20-20. In ranking terms it seems the Boks needed to beat Spain by more than 15 points to overtake them (11th-13th). The margin (see below) was precisely 15!
The match formed part of the big build-up to next year’s WXV, giving squads more exposure to test rugby and long-distance travel.
Yet another North American gig followed at the same venue, Canada v USA – yet another convincing win for the Maple Leafs.
Result: Spain 20 South Africa 35
Referee: Precious Pazani (Zimbabwe) – she had a very good game
Teams
Spain
1 Ines Antolinez 2 Cristina Blanco (captain) 3 Laura Delgado 4 Anna Puig 5 Kasandra Sylla 6 Lucia Gayoso 7 Alba Capell 8 Carmen Castellucci 9 Lucia Diaz 10 Ines Bueso- Inchausti 11 Claudia Perez 12 Maider Aresti 13 Alba Vinuesa 14 Clara Piquero 15 Claudia Pena
Bench:
16 Maira de las Huertas Roman 17 Maria del Castillo 18 Sidorella Bracic 19 Nerea Garcia 20 Vico Gorrochategui 21 Julia Castro 22. Cecilia Huarte 23 Cristina Lopez
South Africa
15. Byrhandré Dolf, 14. Nomawethu Mabenge, 13. Shaunique Hess, 12. Chumisa Qawe, 11.
Jakkie Cilliers, 10. Libbie Janse van Rensburg, 9. Tayla Kinsey, 8. Aseza Hele, 7. Sinazo
Mcatshulwa, 6. Lusanda Dumke, 5. Danelle Lochner, 4. Nolusindiso Booi (captain), 3. Babalwa
Latsha, 2. Lindelwa Gwala 1. Sanelisiwe Charlie
Bench:
16. Roseline Botes, 17. Asithandile Ntoyanto, 18. Yonela Ngxingolo, 19. *Vainah Ubisi, 20. Nompumelelo Mathe, 21. Rumandi Potgieter, 22. Aphiwe Ngwevu, 23. Mary Zulu
*uncapped
