South African rugby entered unchartered territory and broke new ground on Friday as the Springbok Women's Sevens team played in the first ever Rugby Sevens Women's tournament at the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.
The unprecedented moment came at the Robina Stadium in Gold Coast, when the Women Boks took on Canada on the opening day of the tournament, in a game that started in the early hours of Friday.
But the Women Boks have a tough task ahead of them.
They are in Pool A and two of their group opponents are ranked in the top three. SA face Canada, New Zealand and Kenya. The Sevens competition is scheduled to conclude on the final day of the Commonwealth Games.
The publicity gives the South African Rugby Union (Saru) an opportunity to grow the game among women in a rugby-crazy nation.
According to Sport24, Springbok Women's Sevens coach Paul Delport said: "We are playing with the Springbok on our chests and that means a lot. But the reality of our situation is that we are a second-tier team in the women's game," said Delport.
"I want the squad to enjoy the moment and embrace that, but also start to build a foundation that could lead to others joining rugby."
Springbok Women's Sevens captain Zintle Mpupha said she wants her side to be the next role models and the only way her team could do that is if they play and learn from the best.
"We see how players from the top teams, such as New Zealand, are role models in their societies and that is something we also want to become -- therefore, we need to learn from the best," said Mpupha.
Here is the Women's Boks Commonwealth Games schedule (SA time):
The Women Boks were playing Canada at the time of publication.
Friday, April 13
11:33 SA vs New Zealand
Saturday, April 14
4:27 SA vs Kenya
