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Springbok Women's Sevens captain Mathrin Simmers credits team effort for their outstanding display to win the 2025 HSBC Sevens Challenger in Krakow.
South Africa secured back-to-back wins over Argentina, the first score was 21-12, followed by a dominant 22-0 in the final showdown, which saw them qualify for the HSBC SVNS Playoff in Los Angeles.
Speaking to SABC Sport, Simmers says the turning point for the team was their accuracy from the first match in Poland.
"The fact that we had to finish well, especially going into LA, so for us it was a good start, first game, so we are just building the foundation up until the final. The turning point for us was our kick-offs, just starting well against Poland, getting over the first hurdle, and then just building from there," said Simmers.
South Africa will resume with preparations for the LA play-offs next weekend, joining Colombia women, Kenya, Ireland, Argentina, and China for the fourth and crucial round of the competition.
“So we are off this weekend, and we're starting again next week with a focus on LA. Expectations,obviously, is to qualify to get big into the World Series, and then get to stay there with a focus on how to get there, and who we're playing against. We will also focus on ourselves and how we want to approach the tournament,” she explained.
“We have Ireland, China, and Argentina in our pool. We have played them all before, so for us it's just to go back to the drawing board and see where we fell short against them, and where we actually did well against them.
“Then, getting to focus on how we can counter all the teams that we are going to play against, and like I said, focus on ourselves more than what we are going to focus on other teams. The main goal is to qualify to get back onto the series."
The 37-year-old sweeper believes that the experience within the team managed to carry them throughout the tournament.
"Three tournaments into it, I think we found each other quite well in this third tournament. Just to get the combinations right, obviously having a good starting lineup with lots of experience also brings that calm within the team, and then just sets the platform for the bench to come on, and you don't have to panic and stress about getting in front.
“The starting lineup already put us in that same spot where we can actually just build on how we played the first half. So, I think for us, that helped us a lot in this tournament just to have that experience from the word go in the starting lineup," said the captain of the Springbok Women's Sevens team.
