Bok Women excited about tough WXV 2 assignment

The Springbok Women will face Scotland and Italy – both ranked in the top-10 – in their opening matches of WXV 2 in the Western Cape in October, and they will play Samoa in a historic first Test match between the two countries in South Africa.

World Rugby announced the fixtures of the three WXV tournaments earlier on Monday. Six teams will head to Cape Town and Stellenbosch in October after qualifying for the second tier of the inaugural annual women’s 15s tournament.

WXV 2 kicks off on Friday, 13 October at the Danie Craven Stadium in Stellenbosch with an exciting double-header that will see Italy take on Japan before South Africa face Scotland. USA will then tackle Samoa on Saturday, 14 October.

The tournament then heads to Cape Town with the Athlone Stadium hosting the second and third rounds of WXV 2. South Africa will face Italy on 20 October, before the competition ends on the weekend of 27-28 October with three action-packed fixtures across the two days, with Scotland up against Japan and South Africa versus Samoa on the Friday, before USA and Italy bring WXV 2 to a close the next day.

The tournament will take place during the men’s Rugby World Cup 2023 with match times complementing each other, ensuring fans can enjoy what is set to be a thrilling period of elite men’s and women’s rugby.

SA Rugby CEO, Rian Oberholzer, said the hosting of the event is another feather in the cap for the country and SA Rugby.

“We are delighted to be hosting the very first WXV 2 event, a tournament that is set to deliver top class women's rugby, including our ever-improving Springbok Women,” said Oberholzer.

“Everyone in rugby is very keen to support not only the Springbok Women, but women's rugby as a whole and to welcome Scotland, USA, Italy, Samoa and Japan to our shores. We have hosted Rugby World Cup Sevens in September last year and the World Rugby U20 Championship in June with great success, and our aim is to ensure this tournament is delivered to the same high standard.”

For Springbok Women interim head coach Louis Koen, the tournament holds massive potential and appeal as his side enter the tournament ranked only above Samoa.

Babalwa Latsha in action against Spain in 2022.

“We are super excited for this opportunity to play some of the best teams in the world and I want to thank World Rugby for the WXV tournaments, as all teams participating will benefit,” said Koen.

“We have our eyes on the 2025 Rugby World Cup in England, and this will be ideal preparation for us, playing two teams in the top-10 of the world rankings, while Samoa is certainly one of the big movers in the women's game.

“To be able to play Scotland and Italy will be an exciting challenge for us and will be a good yardstick on where we are on our journey. We are improving and learning, and those two very experienced teams will force us to play at a very high level, while Samoa will test us with their physical style of play.

“Our players need all the international exposure and experience they can get in order to improve and this tournament will provide just that.”

WXV 2 participants (with their world rankings) are:
USA (7th)
Italy (8th)
Scotland (9th)
Japan (11th)
South Africa (12th)
Samoa (16th)

Fixtures:

Round 1: Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch

Friday, 13 October
14h00: Italy v Japan
16h30: Scotland v South Africa

Saturday, 14 October
14h00: USA v Samoa

Round 2: Athlone Stadium, Cape Town

Friday, 20 October
14h00: USA v Scotland
16h30: Italy v South Africa

Saturday, 21 October
16h00: Japan v Samoa

Round 3: Athlone Stadium, Cape Town

Friday, 27 October
14h00: Scotland v Japan
16h30: South Africa v Samoa

Saturday, 28 October
17h00: USA v Italy

WXV 2 Louis Koen Scotland Italy Samoa

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