The past week’s two-day alignment camp of the Springbok Women in Pretoria was invaluable for the coaches and players as they continue to build squad cohesion ahead of the Rugby World Cup later this year.
While the 34 players returned to their provinces to continue the provincial rugby competitions, the Bok management was happy with the second short spell they had with the players.
Day One of alignment camp in Pretoria done and dusted (with a thunder storm added). @FNBSA #RWC2025 @rugbyworldcup pic.twitter.com/7VilxMLl8P
— SA Women's Rugby (@WomenBoks) February 3, 2025
Earlier in January, the Springbok Women had their first alignment camp as they sharpened themselves for the tournament in England in August and September.
Compared to the previous World Cup, there weren’t these kinds of alignment sessions in the middle of the week with the players. According to assistant coach Laurian Johannes-Haupt, the results it has yielded so far will stand them in good stead ahead of the tournament.
“This could be one of the better years for us in terms of preparation.”
“This could be one of the better years for us in terms of preparation,” Johannes-Haupt said after the camp.
“In the past, we did not have these many opportunities to prepare and we are blessed to have all this time. We are even using the provincial tournament to help us prepare for the World Cup. The girls get to play more rugby and become better.”
She added that they laid the foundation with the first camp already and the past week helped them to align the players even more with the game plan they ultimately want to play.
While the provincial competitions will resume with the final set for the end of March, the Bok women will continue to build towards a crucial tour of Europe in April for several warm-up matches.
“There is a lot to do in preparation for the World Cup, so we want to ensure the players understand the detail of our gameplan.”
“There is a lot to do in preparation for the World Cup, so we want to ensure the players understand the detail of our gameplan. With these camps, we fine-tune the little details that they ultimately have to execute at the tournament.
“We did fundamental things, then mini-units and we break it up and dissect everything. We ultimately want to get to the full package system and where we can execute our game plan to the best of the players’ abilities.”