Vianca Boer will captain the Springbok women’s sevens A team at the Rugby Africa Women’s Sevens tournament in Kenya this weekend, where South Africa will face Zambia, Zimbabwe and Rwanda in pool A.
Boer is one of only four squad members who has HSBC SVNS experience after head coach Cecil Afrika opted for a relatively inexperienced group of players as their preparations for the 2027 season ramp up.
One qualifying spot for World Rugby’s HSBC SVNS 3 series is up for grabs in Nairobi, but as the South Africans have booked their place in the HSBC SVNS 2 series, starting in January next year, their participation will allow Afrika to give valuable experience to an exciting young group of players.
Boer, Jané Mulder, Shanidiné Bezuidenhout and Owami Mohuli were all part of the squad that qualified for the HSBC SVNS World Championship series in Hong Kong, Valladolid and Bordeaux last season, and will provide excellent guidance to the rest of the squad, among them four players who represented the Junior Springboks recently.
Mohuli, Haylee Hardneck, Siphumelele Mdlalose and Tereské Kabuika-Ilunga all played against the US U20s earlier this season, while Border wing Lilitha Vakalisa played for the SA U20s in 2023 and 2024.
Two players who exchanged other sporting codes for rugby — Isabella Nel (hockey) and Kiera Bowker (water polo and mountain biking) — are also included, while Voice Ndou is back in national colours again.
The DHL Western Province wing played for the SA Students sevens before making herself available for Zimbabwe’s Lady Cheetahs, who played in the Rugby Africa tournament a few seasons back.
She then sat out of international rugby for the required number of seasons and is now eligible to play for South Africa again.
Afrika said settling on his final squad was not an easy task.
“The final selection of this squad was not easy, so congratulations to those who were selected to represent us in Kenya,” said Afrika.
“We opted for a younger group of players and will use this opportunity to develop them and expose them to an international tournament where they will be tested in many ways. This is part of our pathway plan.”
He said talent was only one of the selection criteria.
“Those who excelled in training, had the right attitude, dedication and discipline all got the nod and now have the opportunity to go and play.
"We are not going there to lose; we want to deliver performances that will make us proud and successful at the same time.”
