0-20: The Spanish attack falls dry against South Africa

The lack of offensive inspiration of the Spanish women’s rugby team determined this Sunday their defeat (0-20) in Seville against South Africawhich imposed its dominance in the static phases and its greater physical power to prolong its series of victories against the ‘Lionesses’.

The South Africans achieved their seventh consecutive victory against the Spanish team against whom they remain undefeated since the 12-29 loss suffered in 2019 at home in Port Elizabeth at the La Cartuja Sports Facilities, in the first match of the senior national team in the Andalusian capital.

Spain failed its first two possessions in the opponent’s twenty-two zone due to two bad shots in ‘touche’, in which Marieta Roman He did not understand his jumper and allowed the South African forward to steal the oval.

The frontal style of the ‘Bokke’ players, supported by an evident physical superiority, found reward at the start of a scrum, when the eighth Aseza Hele divided the defense, the midfield pair recycled the ball and Catha Jacobs scored near the posts after two more ‘pick and go’ phases.

The Spanish response was immediate with an irruption of Claudia Pena In the center, the English Harlequins player was knocked down two meters from the goal line and the opening towards Tecla Masoko would have been the score for the ‘Lionesses’ had she not been propelled off the field by her Alicia Arries, her direct opponent.

A penalty shot passed by Jakkie Cilliers widened the advantage of the visiting team (0-10) on the half hour mark, which bordered on the second try after Anushka Groenewald’s break, although the firmness of the Spanish defense prevented it.

The Spanish suffered another setback at the start of the second half, as their willingness to play from their own half was penalized by the interception of a pass by Amalia Argudo and the South Africans’ second try, scored by Aseza Hele after collecting the oval from a ‘ruck’.

Defender Jakkie Cilliers, a player for French Toulon and one of the few South Africans competing professionally in Europe, sealed the result with another mark when her team was playing with numerical superiority due to the temporary exclusion of debutant Maëlia Lapoujade due to repeated infractions by the Spanish scrum.

In the final minutes, led by the enthusiasm of the newly substitutes Lea Ducher and Anne Fernández de Corres, Spain tried to erase the ‘zero’ from their score with an offensive sequence that, as a symbol of an unfortunate match in the ‘set piece’, concluded with a poorly executed ‘touche’ from five meters.

Technical sheet:

0 – Spain: Antolínez, Román, Eider García; Castellucci, Alameda; Peralta, Nerea García, Valentina; Play, Azpitarte; Masoko, Erbina, Peña, Cano; and Argudo. Jou, Vílchez, Lapoujade, Rivera, Capell, Fernández de Corres, Vergara and Ducher also played.

20 – South Africa: Khuzwayo, Groenewald, Latsha; Ubisi, Jacobs; Solontsi, Makua, Hele; Cough, Dolf; Mokone, Lamprecht, Samboya, Arries; and Cilliers. Gwala, Ngxingolo, Mdliki, Lochner, Welman, Ngwevu, Felicia and Zulu also played.

Score: Min.14, Jacobs try converted by Cilliers (0-7). Min.32, penalty blow by Cilliers (0-10). Min.44, Hele try (0-15). Min.67, try by Cilliers (0-20).

Referee: Berenice Loubet (France). He temporarily excluded the Spanish Lapoujade (min. 66).

Incidents: Match corresponding to the ‘World XV 26’ series played on the Juan Antonio Arenas field of the La Cartuja Sports Facilities. Around 3,000 spectators.