Bok Women target another statement win against USA in Pretoria

South Africa head into the clash after recording a historic 34-21 victory at Ellis Park last weekend. 

With several players in Swys de Bruin’s squad representing the Bulls Daisies at provincial level, Johannes-Haupt says their knowledge of the Pretoria venue should work to the team’s advantage.

"Loftus is a different ball game. Although it's not that far off the altitude that we are currently experiencing, Loftus is a bit calmer for us as a lot of our players play there, and not only that, our girls are exposed to it more often," said Johannes-Haupt

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"We've been in Johannesburg for two weeks now, and the girls are really acquainted with the environment and definitely with the altitude. We actually enjoy playing at Loftus; as tough as last year's encounter was with Canada, there was a lot of good learning from that, and that we want to take with us into this game."

Johannes-Haupt says one of the biggest positives has been the team’s ability to broaden its attacking approach while still producing results. 

She is impressed by the continued development on the international stage within the squad.

"Nice thing about this, our skill set has definitely improved. We are a set-piece team, but our overall game has shaped very nicely into what we want to play. We want to play a different style of rugby, and we just want to showcase that."

The Springbok Women have continued their preparations at St John’s College in Johannesburg before travelling to Pretoria later this week. 

Looking back on the victory at Ellis Park, Johannes-Haupt says while there is still room for improvement, the performance showed the team is moving in the right direction.

Johannes-Haupt also confirmed that utility back Byrhandré Dolf will not be available for selection this weekend as she serves a mandatory player welfare rest period. 

Dolf is observing a 10-day break from all rugby activities under workload management protocols and is expected to return when the national squad regroups later next month.

The Springbok Women will name their team to face the USA on Thursday, with kick-off at Loftus Versfeld scheduled for Saturday.