Maria Tshiremba and Ayanda Malinga Strike But Brazil Down Springbok Women’s Sevens in Bordeaux
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Maria Tshiremba and Ayanda Malinga Strike But Brazil Down Springbok Women’s Sevens in Bordeaux

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The Springbok Women’s Sevens’ HSBC SVNS World Championship campaign came to a disappointing end with a 24-17 defeat to Brazil at the Stade Atlantique in Bordeaux, France on Sunday, 7 June 2026.

Despite the result, they showed good progress and believe that they can get back to the top tier of sevens rugby.

That is the view of SA head coach Cecil Afrika after his team finished in 12th place in the final tournament of the season and failed in their efforts to return to the HSBC SVNS Series for 2027.

“We did falter a bit as the weekend progressed,” said Afrika on Sunday.

“We started really well against France and had our moments to win that one, but as the weekend continued, we started to struggle to keep up, hence the defeats yesterday and today to Argentina and Brazil.”

Springbok Women’s Sevens Head Coach, Cecil Afrika

Spain, who also qualified for the World Championship via HSBC SVNS 2, made it into the top eight, with Great Britain losing their core status.

Afrika said: “It can be done, but we just did not have enough depth and experience in the lead-up. We never really had a chance in Hong Kong, due to the short time together after the five injuries in SVNS 2, but you could see the growth and progress for the last two tournaments, where we had a month to prepare.”

The SA coach said he would like to see a bigger training squad and more playing opportunities as part of the next cycle, where they will have to qualify for the World Championships in the SVNS 2 series.

“We have time to plan and discuss the road ahead,” he said. 

“I am very proud of this group and how they grew into a squad that could compete and realise that they are not far off from where we need to be. So, I would like to give credit to the players, they really worked hard.”

Afrika said the next cycle will be as important, hence the need to not repeat mistakes: “We are going into the next cycle where we will have Olympic Games qualification, so we need to get our ducks in a row for that as well as trying to get back to the top eight.

“We will have some players returning from injury and that will help a lot, as we will need experienced players when we bring in new players to be exposed to sevens rugby. We will be back.”

Springbok Women’s Sevens captain Zintle Mpupha said the players worked very hard to get to this point and the fact that they did not qualify for next year’s series is not due to a lack of effort.

“This sevens system requires hard work, and the team came a long way, from having to qualify for SVNS 3 and then SVNS 2 to where we were really competitive, especially in Spain,” said Mpupha.

“So, I am very proud of those efforts, we could not sustain it, which was a pity, as it was rather inexperience than lack of effort that cost us in the end.”

Springbok Women’s Sevens Captain, Zintle Mpupha

In their final game on Sunday, handling errors proved costly in their 11th-place playoff against Brazil, who won 24-17.

An early scoring opportunity by Vianca Boer was called back for a knock-on and some momentum was lost in the process in a match where the South Africans started strong.

Instead, it was Brazil who scored, with their premier player, Thalia Costa, hugely influential in dictating matters. Costa managed to round the swarming SA defence to set up the first try.

From the restart, a handling error handed possession back to Brazil, who scored to stretch their lead to 14-0 before Costa’s try just before the break made it 19-0.

South Africa came back well in the second half. Brazil were given a yellow card for slapping down a pass and in the next two minutes, South Africa scored twice.

First Maria Tshiremba, who had a very good weekend in France, crossed for a try after a good pass into space by Byrhandré Dolf, and then a good dummy by Mpupha set up a run-in for Ayanda Malinga, which cut Brazil’s lead to seven points.

Costa intervened again and Brazil got a fourth try before a looping run by Tshiremba saw her earn a brace and finish the tournament on a high.

Springbok Women’s Sevens Day 3 Result at the HSBC SVNS World Championship, at the Stade Atlantique in Bordeaux, France, on Sunday, 7 June, 2026

South Africa 17 (0) – Brazil 24 (19) 

South Africa: Tries: Maria Tshiremba (2), Ayanda Malinga
Conversion: Byrhandré Dolf

Brazil: Tries: Yasmim Soares, Isadora Lopes, Thalia Costa, Ariely Moreira
Conversions: Gisele Gomes dos Santos (2)

Springbok Women’s Sevens Day 2 Results

Final Pool Match: South Africa 5 (5) – Argentina 17 (5) 

South Africa: Try: Maria Tshiremba

Argentina: Tries: Maria Brigido Chamorro (2), Antonella Reding
Conversion: Sofia Gonzalez

Ninth-place Playoff: South Africa 17 (7) – Argentina 22 (10) 

South Africa: Tries: Maria Tshiremba (2), Zintle Mpupha
Conversion: Byrhandré Dolf

Argentina: Tries: María Paula Pedrozo, Marianela Escalante, Maria Brigido Chamorro, Talia Rodich
Conversion: Sofia Gonzalez

Springbok Women’s Sevens Day 1 Results

South Africa 7 (7) – France 22 (10)

South Africa: Try: Maria Tshiremba
Conversion: Byrhandré Dolf

France: Tries: Lou Noel (2), Léa Trollier, Hawa Tounkara
Conversion: Chloe Jacquet

South Africa 0 – New Zealand 42 (28)

New Zealand: Tries: Manaia Nuku (2), Jorja Miller, Mahina Paul (2), Katelyn Vahaakolo Conversions: Manaia Nuku (4), Risi Pouri-Lane (2)

The Springbok Women’s Sevens Squad for the HSBC SVNS World Championship in Bordeaux, France

3 Patience Mokone
4 Zintle Mpupha (C)
7 Maria Tshiremba
10 Byrhandré Dolf
15 Vianca Boer
16 Shiniqwa Lamprecht
20 Catha Jacobs
21 Jané Mulder
22 Owami Mohuli
23 Ayanda Malinga
26 Lerato Makua
27 Maceala Samboya
30 Eloise Webb

Original Copy: SA Rugby, with editing by gsport

Main Photo Caption: Maria Tshiremba finished the tournament with a brace and Ayanda Malinga also crossed, but the Springbok Women’s Sevens went down 24-17 to Brazil to end their HSBC SVNS World Championship campaign in 12th place at the Stade Atlantique in Bordeaux, France. Photo: Gallo Images / SA Rugby

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