Catha Jacobs credits sevens stint as Springbok Women face Black Ferns on home soil

Catha Jacobs will carry the lessons of her sevens detour into Saturday’s one-off Test when the Springbok Women host the Black Ferns in Soweto for the first time, with kick-off forming part of the Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry double-header at FNB Stadium.

The utility forward was drafted into the Springbok Women’s Sevens squad following South Africa’s Women’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final exit to New Zealand last September, going on to compete in the HSBC SVNS 2 and HSBC SVNS World Championship events. She has since started three of the Springbok Women’s last four Tests against the USA Eagles and Fiji.

“I joined the sevens after the Women’s Rugby World Cup and played in the various HSBC SVNS tournaments, which was great for my conditioning, but also my skill level, which improved as well,” Jacobs said. “There is no doubt in my mind that I have benefitted hugely from being with the sevens group and I can feel that in my XVs play over the last couple of Test matches.”

Jacobs also pointed to the influence of teammates who crossed over from the sevens programme. “Having several of those sevens teammates in the mix certainly added to our improved ability. We will never move away from our strengths in the first phase and our physicality, but we did add some variety in our play.”

The fixture carries extra weight given the history between the two sides. At Sandy Park in Exeter last October, South Africa reached a Women’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final for the first time and led the six-time champions 10-10 at half-time before New Zealand pulled away to win 46-17, eventually claiming the bronze medal.

“We left the field frustrated after the quarter-final clash against the Black Ferns last September in Exeter,” Jacobs said. “It was great to have made the last eight for the first time ever and even better to be 10-10 at halftime with a team that dominated World Cups over decades. That second half did not go our way and we were frustrated afterwards, wishing we could turn back the clock.”

Coach Swys de Bruin’s side will now get the chance to measure their progress against the world’s second-ranked team on home soil, with Jacobs describing the squad’s trajectory as an “upward curve that started in the lead up to the World Cup.”