The Springbok Women's Sevens team will hope that the intensity of play during the 2024 HSBC SVNS will benefit them in Madrid this weekend when they face Argentina, Belgium and Brazil in the play-off finals of the season-ending tournament, to be played at Civitas Metropolitano Stadium from Friday to Sunday.
The full Vodacom United Rugby Championship schedule for the 2024/25 campaign is now available thanks to the first-ever in-season launch of the following seasons’ fixtures.
South African rugby’s derby strength which has led to record attendances in the Vodacom United Rugby Championship will be showcased again as the competition’s new season kicks off this September with an opening round featuring a festival of local derbies.
The Vodacom Bulls, DHL Stormers and Emirates Lions will have everything to play for in the final pool round of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship on Saturday – when the SA Shield winner will also be determined – as they attempt to book the best possible log positions heading into the quarter-finals and attempt to secure their spots in the top eight in what is expected to be a thrilling round of local derbies.
The belief in their turnaround of fortunes is real and come the HSBC SVNS Grand Finale in Madrid this weekend, the Springbok Sevens team will be ready to deliver.
Playing rugby for your country remains a privilege, and being able to don the green and gold in both sevens and fifteens even more so. Hence, when the call came to rejoin the Springbok Women's Sevens and travel to Spain for the HSBC SVNS Qualifier this weekend, Veroeshka Grain did not hesitate despite having just returned from Madagascar with the Springbok Women.
The record books will reflect that South Africa won the last two HSBC SVNS tournaments in Spain – Malaga and Seville in 2022 – and for Justin Geduld, playing in his 60th world series tournament for the Blitzboks this weekend, those achievements can be repeated.
The World Rugby U20 Championship returns to South Africa in June and July when the 12 best Under-20 teams will battle it out for global supremacy.
The Springboks added prestigious continental awards to their impressive list of accolades following their back-to-back Rugby World Cup titles last year, when they received the Team of the Year and Sportsman of the Year awards at the African Union Sports Council Region 5 Sports Awards in Lusaka, Zambia.
Hollywoodbets Sharks captain Eben Etzebeth described his team’s convincing victory against Gloucester in the EPCR Challenge Cup final at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London as his greatest club highlight and lauded his team’s character for making history by becoming the first South African franchise to win the European title.