Raubenheimer pleased with effort

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   Springbok Women coach Stanley Raubenheimer praised his charges for their effort during in a 15-6 defeat to Japan in  the Kamaishi Unosumai Memorial Stadium in Iwate on Sunday, in the first of
 two internationals between the teams. 
The Springbok Women, leading 6-5 at the break of their first test match of two in the Japan Rugby Challenge Series, faltered late and allowed the hosts to gain a twelve-point margin in the second
 half without being able to reply. 
Japan scored a try in the first half to take the lead, but two penalty goals by Libbie Janse van Rensburg edged her side ahead at the break. The second half was equally tight, but the humid conditions
 took the sting out of the South African legs and allowed Japan to score a second try and kick a penalty to secure the win.

“We certainly had our moments, and this is one that got away,” said Raubenheimer. “I cannot fault the effort of our players, but that is one of three principles we apply to our team. The others
 are skill and knowledge, and we were not as good in those as in the effort stakes. We created more than enough chances to score tries, which was pleasing, but did not convert them, which is frustrating.”
The Japan side started strongly and dominated the first ten minutes to score, but after that it was all South Africa. The Bok Women had good possession and territory and often worked themselves
 into good positions, but then faltered in the final execution. 
“I think we overplayed at times,” said Raubenheimer. “The forwards laid a good foundation, but when we breached the line, we tended to be too conservative.”
The domination he referred to did lead to Japan conceding several penalties and flyhalf Libbie Janse van Rensburg kicked two penalties to edge her side ahead.

The Women Boks also kicked to the corner for an attacking line-out, but lost the ball, and the pivot pushed a third penalty goal to the right from a straightforward position. That gave the Japanese
 a lifeline and they grabbed it with both hands in the second half.
The hosts scored a converted try from a maul halfway through the second half which gave them the lead again and kicked another penalty to extend the lead to 12 points. The South Africans did
 not concede though and continued to attack, only to be thwarted by sloppy finishing, much to Raubenheimer’s dismay.

The coach was still confident of overturning the result when the two sides meet next Saturday in Kumagaya Rugby Stadium in Saitama.

“That is the nice part of a two-test series, we go again next weekend. I know we will be better for it, and I am sure Japan will be too. We had to overcome a long trip and very humid condition
 out there today, so will be in better shape next weekend. It was part of the reason why we toured here, to get the players to understand jet lag and humid conditions. I think they responded well and with regards to the bigger picture, the Rugby World Cup,
 we took a step forward today and will hopefully do so again next weekend.  We have a couple of things we will work on this week and come back stronger in Kumagaya.”

The test saw EP Queens prop Monica Mazibukwana and scrumhalf Rumandi Potgieter earning first test caps and the Eastern Cape player said ‘it was a wonderful feeling’.
“ I knew my chance would come. I was ready when the manager called me to get ready and it worked out just as I hoped – starting with a scrum. I wanted to prove something and then I got awarded
 a scrum penalty, I was smiling and very happy,” Mazibukwana said. 
“In 2019 I ruptured my ACL when I was playing for a SA XV’s team against Spain and since that day, I’ve wanted to come back strong and play for the Women Boks. So, in that regard, I am very pleased
 that my hard work has been rewarded,” she said.
“It was a good day for me. Yes, we lost but we never surrendered and just made mistakes at the wrong time when on attack. It is all stuff we can fix before next week,” she said.

Scorers:
South Africa 6 (6) - Penalty goals: Libbie Janse van Rensburg (2).

Japan 15 (5) - Tries: Seina Saito (2). Conversion: Minori Yamamoto. Penalty goal: Yamamoto.

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Transvaal Members Profile Send Private Message Find Members Posts Add to Buddy List Admin Group Joined: 30-Mar-2016 Status: Offline Points: 39116	Post Options Post Reply Quote Transvaal Report Post Thanks(0) Quote Reply Topic: Raubenheimer pleased with effort Posted: 25-Jul-2022 at 8:25am
	Springbok Women coach Stanley Raubenheimer praised his charges for their effort during in a 15-6 defeat to Japan in the Kamaishi Unosumai Memorial Stadium in Iwate on Sunday, in the first of two internationals between the teams. The Springbok Women, leading 6-5 at the break of their first test match of two in the Japan Rugby Challenge Series, faltered late and allowed the hosts to gain a twelve-point margin in the second half without being able to reply. Japan scored a try in the first half to take the lead, but two penalty goals by Libbie Janse van Rensburg edged her side ahead at the break. The second half was equally tight, but the humid conditions took the sting out of the South African legs and allowed Japan to score a second try and kick a penalty to secure the win. “We certainly had our moments, and this is one that got away,” said Raubenheimer. “I cannot fault the effort of our players, but that is one of three principles we apply to our team. The others are skill and knowledge, and we were not as good in those as in the effort stakes. We created more than enough chances to score tries, which was pleasing, but did not convert them, which is frustrating.” The Japan side started strongly and dominated the first ten minutes to score, but after that it was all South Africa. The Bok Women had good possession and territory and often worked themselves into good positions, but then faltered in the final execution. “I think we overplayed at times,” said Raubenheimer. “The forwards laid a good foundation, but when we breached the line, we tended to be too conservative.” The domination he referred to did lead to Japan conceding several penalties and flyhalf Libbie Janse van Rensburg kicked two penalties to edge her side ahead. The Women Boks also kicked to the corner for an attacking line-out, but lost the ball, and the pivot pushed a third penalty goal to the right from a straightforward position. That gave the Japanese a lifeline and they grabbed it with both hands in the second half. The hosts scored a converted try from a maul halfway through the second half which gave them the lead again and kicked another penalty to extend the lead to 12 points. The South Africans did not concede though and continued to attack, only to be thwarted by sloppy finishing, much to Raubenheimer’s dismay. The coach was still confident of overturning the result when the two sides meet next Saturday in Kumagaya Rugby Stadium in Saitama. “That is the nice part of a two-test series, we go again next weekend. I know we will be better for it, and I am sure Japan will be too. We had to overcome a long trip and very humid condition out there today, so will be in better shape next weekend. It was part of the reason why we toured here, to get the players to understand jet lag and humid conditions. I think they responded well and with regards to the bigger picture, the Rugby World Cup, we took a step forward today and will hopefully do so again next weekend. We have a couple of things we will work on this week and come back stronger in Kumagaya.” The test saw EP Queens prop Monica Mazibukwana and scrumhalf Rumandi Potgieter earning first test caps and the Eastern Cape player said ‘it was a wonderful feeling’. “ I knew my chance would come. I was ready when the manager called me to get ready and it worked out just as I hoped – starting with a scrum. I wanted to prove something and then I got awarded a scrum penalty, I was smiling and very happy,” Mazibukwana said. “In 2019 I ruptured my ACL when I was playing for a SA XV’s team against Spain and since that day, I’ve wanted to come back strong and play for the Women Boks. So, in that regard, I am very pleased that my hard work has been rewarded,” she said. “It was a good day for me. Yes, we lost but we never surrendered and just made mistakes at the wrong time when on attack. It is all stuff we can fix before next week,” she said. Scorers: South Africa 6 (6) - Penalty goals: Libbie Janse van Rensburg (2). Japan 15 (5) - Tries: Seina Saito (2). Conversion: Minori Yamamoto. Penalty goal: Yamamoto.