Eloise Webb almost rejected Springbok Women's Sevens call after Olympic heartbreak

Eloise Webb came close to declining her call-up to the Springbok Women’s Sevens squad for the HSBC SVNS World Championship, admitting that the sting of Olympic rejection and the physical toll of sevens rugby nearly led her to turn down coach Cecil Afrika’s request.

The 30-year-old, a veteran of two Women’s Rugby World Cup campaigns and two Rugby World Cup Sevens tournaments, was brought into the squad to help cover an injury crisis ahead of World Championship events in Hong Kong, Valladolid and Bordeaux.

“The call to join the squad for Hong Kong was unexpected and my immediate instinct was to opt out, not only because of what happened in 2024 and Olympic rejection, but also because I know how taxing sevens is on the body,” Webb said.

Her hesitation was compounded by the timing of the call-up. Webb had been preparing for a full fifteens season and had just come through the demanding Pick n Pay Women’s Super League 1 campaign when Afrika reached out.

“I was training for a season of fifteens and to suddenly be called into a sevens regime was not what I anticipated or prepared for,” she said. “The load on your body is just so much different, and we had just finished the Super League, which was demanding as well.”

Despite her initial reluctance, Webb committed to the squad and has since featured across the Hong Kong and Valladolid legs of the series. South Africa currently sit 10th in the 12-team standings, with a top-eight finish required to secure their place on the HSBC SVNS Series for next season.

The stakes are high in Bordeaux, where South Africa have been drawn in Pool A alongside France, New Zealand and Argentina — a formidable group that will test Webb and her teammates if they are to achieve the result that keeps them in the top tier of the global sevens circuit.