HOME FIRES BURNING

Wynona Louw

Springbok Women’s star Nadine Roos is looking forward to the “vibe” at DHL Stadium.

Will there be pressure? Sure. But the Springbok Women’s Sevens team aren’t going to be focusing on that at the Rugby World Cup Sevens at DHL Stadium.

Playing in front of your home crowd of course comes with its benefits, but there’s pressure and expectation as well. But that’s not what the Sevens ladies are going to be channeling their focus on.

It’s an opportunity they are looking forward to, something that sweeper Nadine Roos describes as “surreal”.

“The vibe and the people are amazing. So I’m very excited,” Roos said after experiencing the Cape Town Sevens back in 2019.

Roos is one of the more experienced players in a group that also features a number of newer players. And while a significant number of them have played together, there are those for whom this kind of tournament will be a whole new experience.

Enjoyment is something that Springbok Women’s Sevens coach, Paul Delport, has also emphasised in the build-up to the Rugby World Cup Sevens. And having played on the World Rugby Sevens circuit for many years, he would know.

“I think everybody might get kind of stressed and overwhelmed, but Paul has told us to just be ourselves and to bring our personalities out, he told us that we play our best rugby when we’re enjoying it,” Roos said.

“I think we have to look past all the external factors and just focus on the job that needs to be done on the field, then everything else will fall into place. You just have to enjoy it, forget about the pressure of playing in front of your home crowd.

“We’re telling ourselves ‘yes, the crowd is there, but we are the 12 players who are going to be on the field, and in that moment, that’s what and who we’re going to have to be, we’re going to have to stick together’. We need to block out anything that could contribute to us going onto the field stressed.”

Nadine Roos is a potent force on attack for the Imbokodo.

- ANA Pictures