South Africa Women name 26-player squad for inaugural 'A' tour to Brazil

South Africa have named a 26-player squad for the inaugural Springbok Women ‘A’ tour to Brazil, where they will face Brazil ‘A’ in consecutive fixtures in São Paulo on 24 and 29 August.

Shark Women back Mary Zulu, 23, will captain the side. She is among a group of capped Springbok players in a squad that carries an average age of just 22, and she featured for the Boks at the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup in England. Luchell Hanekom, who also played at that tournament, returns from injury to take her place in the squad.

Dave Wessels, SA Rugby’s General Manager of High-Performance, described the tour as a significant development for the women’s game. “The establishment of an SA Women’s ‘A’ side and the forthcoming trip to Brazil is another big step forward for women’s rugby in South Africa, as it strengthens our talent pathways and builds greater depth at international level,” he said. “This tour also opens an exciting new frontier with our friends in Brazil.”

Six players — Anusckha Ekron, Sino Bhengu, Abigail Smit, Zethu Gcaza, Insaaf Levy and Shaunique Alexander — earn selection after featuring in South Africa’s Rugby Africa Women’s Cup campaign earlier this year.

One of the more notable inclusions is Isabella Nel, a former field hockey player who only took up rugby in 2025 as part of an SA Rugby initiative to recruit athletes from other sports. Nel, who is listed as unattached, becomes the first cross-code athlete to be selected from that programme.

“We have some amazing female athletes in South Africa,” Wessels said. “Growing the women’s game is an important driver for us and we believe we can boost our programmes with female players from other codes. It’s great to see Isabella make the squad and we’re excited to see what she can do.”

The squad is coached by Bafana Nhleko and draws players from clubs including DHL Western Province, Sharks Women, Isuzu Bulls Daisies, Border Ladies and EP Queens.