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Cape Town - Springbok Women’s assistant coach Eddie Myners said there was a deep desire within the team to improve on their performance when they face Spain on Saturday after a morale-boosting reintroduction to Test rugby last week.
The Springbok Women went down 19-5 against Wales in Cardiff on Saturday in their first Test since the 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup after trailing 12-5 for most of the second half.
This followed a 31-12 victory against the UK Armed Forces in Richmond in their tour opener.
Myners’ was upbeat as the team began their preparations for the clash against Spain, which will be hosted at Campo de Rugby in Villajoyosa.
“The mood in camp is great and the players are really looking forward to the match,” said Myners on Monday.
“We took several positives from the game against Wales, and there is a desire throughout the squad to improve on that performance this week.
“We had 56% possession and 47% territory in that match, but we were unable to convert that pressure into points. The players certainly learned that this is the golden rule of Test rugby.
“The other encouraging aspects we took from that performance were the quality of our defence, breakdowns and lineouts, and we will certainly look to build on that this week.”
Myners expected a tough encounter against Spain and said: “They are a hard-running side that gets around the park quickly, and they constantly look for space on attack. They also have good set pieces. So this will be another physical clash, but one that will also test our speed and agility.”
Myners emphasised the importance of believing in their structures as the tour progresses and said: “We are currently in a building phase, so we will stick to what we have done in the last three weeks and add to that as we go along.
“We need to have confidence in our plan and remain patient, especially since last weekend’s game marked our first Test in four years. So we will take the positives from that match and continue to put in the hard yards at training.”
Saturday’s match kicks off at 18:30 SA Time. The Springbok Women will face Italy in Prato in their final Test on Sunday, November 25.
