The end is just the beginning

I watched the RWC 2025 quarter final between the Springbok Women and the Black Ferns with some guys who had never watched any women’s rugby before. I didn’t know them, and I didn’t plan it that way, but these things happen when you start your day in the pub at 8:30 am for the Bok game. Anyway. I was a little apprehensive (and planning my exit strategy) because although it was 100% their choice to watch the game – and I would gladly have watched on my own – they were a smidge dismissive. Lots of “I’d rather watch netball” wink wink nudge nudge from them, and a proportionate amount of eyerolling from me. But two minutes into that game, their demeanours changed, and their minds were blown. The laddish jokes not only went out the window, but they turned into exclamations about how the women were playing just as fast and hitting just as hard as the men (if not faster and harder at times). They were quickly fully invested in the game, pointing out their newly discovered favourite players, screaming at the ref when they deemed the Black Ferns to be offside, and joyfully optimistic that the Springbok Women could go all the way. It was probably more vocal than I’d seen them be in the earlier game that had actually brought them to the pub. The beautiful zeal of new converts.

That has been the power of this World Cup. And while the Springbok Women ultimately could not defeat the six-time title holders, despite holding the Black Ferns to a 10-all draw in the first half, they have won so many hearts during this campaign. The truest of rugby lovers hold great pride in the sense of community our sport creates. There is brutality on the field, and sometimes toxic takes online and in the media, but at the core of the game is a sense of fierce camaraderie amongst players and supporters. A deep sense of connection. And in the women’s game, this seems to come to the fore even more powerfully. Perhaps it’s because women’s rugby has not yet been professionalised to the same extent as the men’s game, but the rivalries feel somehow lighter, the willingness to make space for the simple joy of the game even greater. There’s been disparaging talk previously about some of the women’s teams doing TikTok dances, even after defeat, and maybe that’s not everyone’s cup of tea. That’s fine. The singing, the dancing, the friendship bracelets and little gifts shared between fans and players, the teams celebrating each other in big and small ways – those things do nothing to detract from the incredible rugby being played. Instead, they help new fans see the joy of the game they’re falling in love with, and remind those of us who have been fans forever what we felt like before we got a little jaded by endless law changes, bitching about refs, and online finger pointing about which nation has the worst supporters. And only in the women’s game are you likely to find South Africans abandoning the age-old ethos of “anyone but England” to sometimes support the Red Roses, just because we recognise the immense talent the team has.

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Make no mistake, though. Women’s rugby is not just hearts and flowers and hairbows. The real attraction is still what’s happening on the field. And while this World Cup journey has ended for our Springbok Women, we should be immensely proud of this team. History makers, every one of them. In 2022, I woke up at ridiculously early hours to watch the Springbok Women compete in the previous World Cup in New Zealand. They lost every game, but we could already see the seeds that were being planted. Since then, there’s been a concerted effort to get the team more meaningful game time, more sponsors have been brought on board, and Swys de Bruin joined as head coach, making an incredible impact in the year he has been at the helm. RWC 2025 was a tournament that allowed us to introduce newer talent like Maceala Samboya to a World Cup environment, while also giving a fitting farewell to the most-capped Springbok Women's player, captain Nolusindiso Booi, who retires at 40 with 55 caps. The goal was always to make it out of the pool stages, something the Springbok Women had never done before. They achieved that goal when they qualified for the quarter finals with a first ever win over Italy, simultaneously climbing to 10^th in the world (up from 12^th). And while they lost to the Black Ferns 46-17 in the quarter final, there were certainly moments in the first half of that game when they looked as if they may even exceed their goal. The Springbok Women also scored three tries against the Black Ferns in that quarter final, which, prior to the semi, was the most the women from New Zealand had conceded during the tournament. It was only in the second 40 minutes that the Black Ferns were able to shake off what appeared to be shellshock at the way the Springbok Women were playing, and find their usual stride. Because while our women’s team may not have the resources or the win rate of the men just yet, the South African way of playing rugby is very much part of their DNA. Powerful forwards combining with fleetfooted backs, an insatiable love of the scrum, and a penchant for a few unexpected lineout manoeuvres. It’s just how we roll.

We talk so much about momentum shifts in rugby, and what really matters now is not how the Springbok Women’s journey at this World Cup ended, but how we begin the next chapter. Already, SA Rugby has announced that Betway is sponsoring a new women’s club tournament, taking place in October. I don’t love that the games are all being played on weekdays – can we actually schedule women’s games at times when people can watch them? – but it’s another step in the right direction. Last year, an announcement was made that up to 150 women players would be centrally contracted, which hasn’t materialised yet, as far as I know. Hopefully we’ll see some movement on that soon. But most importantly, the RWC has introduced so many more people to the women’s game, both in South Africa and around the world. Stadiums have sold out, and people like the men I watched the quarter final with have witnessed women’s rugby for the very first time. Social media has been awash with fans young and old, male and female, sharing the impact this tournament and these players have had on them. A friend of mine took his daughter to watch the Springbok Women play Italy. She’s already a Springbok fan (and knows we called her Baby Bakkies when she was in utero, for reasons that made sense to us at the time). She’s been raised on rugby. But that day, she got to see it in a new way that made it even more relatable. She witnessed the Springbok Women making history with an exhilarating win, and afterwards, she got to meet many of the players and coaches. They took the time to engage with her, and her dad, and so many other fans. There is a photo of Swys de Bruin enveloping her in a bear hug that makes me want to cry every time I see it. This is how we grow the game. And not just the women’s game. Because more and more women are falling in love with rugby across the board – you only have to look at the queues for the bathrooms at games to know our numbers are increasing – and that means more revenue for the men’s game too.

Of course, no one is saying that everyone has to start watching women’s rugby now. There will be those who don’t watch because they simply don’t have time for more sport – I seldom watch 7s because I just don’t always have the capacity, and 15s is far and away my preference. That’s okay. And there will always be those who refuse to watch women’s rugby because women don’t belong in a “man’s game” – we’ll probably never change their minds, and frankly, I’m not interested in trying. Those people will be left behind eventually, and not just when it comes to rugby. But my hope is that for those who haven’t been watching because they just didn’t know how amazing the Springbok Women really are, this tournament will be the turning point. And that SARU, sponsors, and broadcasters will see this opportunity for what it is and make the next chapter of women’s rugby in South Africa more lucrative for the players, and more accessible for the fans. I can’t wait to see what comes next.