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Bok women turn focus to Wales

Paris - The Springbok Women on Thursday turned their attention to their final Women's Rugby World Cup pool match against Wales after deep introspection following their 55-3 defeat against hosts France on Tuesday.

The players spent most of Wednesday off their feet to recover from the match, but they answered among one another for their disappointing performance against France in an honest video session.

The team, however, returned to training on Thursday in Les Ulis to prepare for the Wales clash on Saturday.

This was followed by a legacy programme in Les Ulis where a few players hosted a rugby clinic with a group of local children.

"There was a sombre mood in the camp after the defeat against France, and although we knew it would be tough for us all to watch the video, it was important to see what mistakes we made so we do not repeat them against Wales," said Springbok Women's assistant coach Renfred Dazel.

"As coaches we were honest with the players about what went wrong and the players also admitted their faults, so hopefully they take the lessons learned into the next match."

Dazel, however, was pleased with the reaction by the players at training on Thursday and said: "The attitude in the camp was certainly more positive this morning and one could see the determination at training to lift their game.

"The communication and urgency at training was exactly what we wanted to see from the players.

"A large part of the session was focused on technique, but we also squeezed in some high-tempo training to get the players match ready."

Commenting on the legacy programme, Dazel was pleased to see the players showing their gratitude for the warm welcome in Les Ulis by spending time with the children and sharing their knowledge of the sport they share a deep passion for.

"We were welcomed with open arms by the Les Ulis community since we arrived in France, so it was good to see the players give something back," said Dazel.

"We have had fantastic support at every training session and the children showed their support by painting the South African flag and the Springbok emblem on T-shirts for the players when we arrived here.

"So the players really enjoyed teaching them to play rugby."

The Springbok Women's team to face Wales will be announced on Friday.

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