An opening 14-12 win over Spain was followed by a 12-0 defeat to Brazil, before they finished the day with a 12-10 win over Kenya, resulting in South Africa finishing the day second on the log behind Argentina, who will be one of their two opponents on Sunday, with China being the other.
The tournament did not start well for South Africa, who qualified by winning the HSBC SVNS 3 tournament in Dubai last month. In the opening spell against Spain, they lost forward Leigh Fortuin with a fractured elbow, an injury that ruled her out for the remainder of the tournament.
The injury came after some good attacking play by South Africa, wearing their alternative white and green strip, and to add to their misery, Spain broke away in a rare attacking opportunity to score the opening try.
Up to that point, a couple of breakdown and scrum penalties did not help the Bok Women Sevens either. Despite that, they dominated most of the play, with Spain scoring against the run of play.
Nadine Roos pulled one back almost immediately as she raced in from 80m and her conversion tied the scores at the break.
The second half was more even, with Spain starting to attack with more purpose and possession. The SA side seemed to lose some of their rhythm and the Spanish struck when they outworked the defence.
The conversion went wide for a 12-7 lead to Spain, but with time running out on the clock, Liske Lategan broke away to score under the sticks, with the conversion giving the South Africans their win.
Against Brazil, who lost their first match to Kenya, it was again a matter of not finishing off the chances created. Frantic defence and rushed passes hampered both teams as they struggled to get any fluency in their attacking play.
For the Bok Women, Lerato Makua in particular, proved a handful, as her physical presence had Brazil on the back foot, but a poorly executed pass by South Africa provided the gap the South Americans were looking for and they raced away for the opening score, with the conversion handing them a 7-0 lead at the break.
The second half started well for South Africa with Ayanda Malinga just beaten by a bouncing ball following a good kick by Byrhandré Dolf. Most of the half was played in Brazil's territory, with good defence by the Bok Women keeping their opponents under pressure.
Credit to Brazil, who managed to hold on to the ball for long spells. The only try of the half came from a South African mistake though, as Asisipho Plaatjies lost possession and the opponents scored from the turnover.
There was still an opportunity for a losing bonus point in the last minute and South Africa tried their best, but they just could not get their act together in this fixture.
Two tries, both in the first half, gave South Africa the buffer to withstand a desperate Kenya comeback in the second half.
Shiniqwa Lamprecht scored the opener early on. A Kenyan lineout went astray, Roos caught the ball and fed Lamprecht who went over under the sticks. Roos converted for a 7-0 lead.
A yellow card to Makua for a high tackle gave Kenya a chance to strike back and they did when their captain, Sheila Charija, scored after running through a gap between Lamprecht and Roos.
The conversion was wide and the Bok Women were 7-5 up. They extended that lead to 12-5 with a try by Maria Tshiremba, who scored after three good attacking phases and recycles, started by Simamkele Namba, who made the initial break.
Spurred on the by huge crowd, Kenya came back strongly in the second half and scored late in the half, but the conversion went wide.
All the Springbok Women's Sevens team had to do was to secure the restart and kick the ball into touch, duly executed by Lamprecht.
SA fixtures - Sunday 15 February:
10h00: China
14h12: Argentina
Scorers:
South Africa 14 (7), Spain 12 (7)
SA – Tries: Nadine Roos, Liske Lategan. Conversions: Roos, Byrhandré Dolf.
Spain – Tries: Requena Zamora, Miranda Miralles. Conversion: Fernandez de Corres Del Rio.
South Africa 0, Brazil 12 (7)
Brazil – Tries: Tahlita Costa, Bianca Silva. Conversion: Costa
South Africa (12), Kenya (5)
SA – Tries: Shiniqwa Lamprecht, Maria Tshiremba. Conversion: Nadine Roos.
Kenya – Tries: Sheila Charija, Laura Oswago.
Catha Jacobs has come full circle in her rugby journey, returning to the Springbok Women's Sevens squad in Stellenbosch after building a successful career in fifteens and club rugby overseas.
Springbok Women's Sevens coach Cecil Afrika praised his team's performance at the HSBC SVNS 2 tournament in Nairobi on Sunday after they lifted themselves into second place.
The Springbok Women's Sevens finished the opening tournament of HSBC SVNS 2 in second place on the log after winning both their matches on Sunday.
The Springbok Women's Sevens are confident they can push their way back into the HSBC SVNS, with that ambition set to be tested this weekend in Nairobi.
