South Africa dominated the day against the USA in Saturday's women's test match at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.
The Springboks, who went into the match probably the favorites, were not expected to win so convincingly.
But it all went right for South Africa. The Boks played hard and fast early and were over within a few minutes with Ayanda Malinga scoring in the corner. South Africa was back on the front foot after that and while the USA defended well for a time, they couldn't get clear.
The Boks worked a play off the scrum, forming an open-field maul and taking the USA D by surprise in the process. Try number two as Unam Tose finished it all off with a pick-and-go.
South Africa continued to probe the USA gainline, showcasing that combination of rugby understanding, power, and speed USA Head Coach Jack Hanratty had warned about.
Of a solid scrum they set it up for captain and tighthead prop Babalwa Latsha for another try.
With South Africa threatening again USA scrumhalf Cass Bargell was sin-binned for a professional foul. And the Springboks took advantage, finding space out wide for wing Logan Welman to take the corner.
After that the USA actually was able to get into a good attacking position. But set piece failures plagued the Eagles and it was South Africa, with a chip kick and a good chase, Welman finished off the half with her second and a 29-0 South Africa lead.
Any hopes of a comeback were discouraged when a poor clearance allowed South Africa to charge the ball down. Vainah Ubisi thundered over to get another Springbok try.
The USA was able to get more ball to work with and while they weren't breaking through, they were at least testing the South African defense a bit. Finally they worked their way down the field and Feda Tafuna crashed over for the first USA try.
Bella Vogel's conversion made it 34-7, and the Eagles followed that right up with a nice long-range sequence that finished off with 15s debutante Ashley Cowdrey sidestepping her way over. Finally the Americans saw how quickly they had to play.
Thundering ahead the forwards kind of took charge—being faster than their South African counterparts seemed to help—and another debutante, Caroline Cook, scored on a pick-and-go. Vogel was good on the kick once more and now it was 34-21.
But the USA could not get any closer. On first glance the scoreline reads as if this was a competitive test match. It wasn't. South Africa led 29-0 at halftime and had the game in hand. It was a poor start for the USA and that can easily be chalked up to unfamiliarity of location and teammates. However, they also needed to be prepared for a Springbok program that has massively improved over the years.
As captain Georgia Perris-Redding and Hanratty had said, this was an opponent with talent and athleticism. Test match rugby is often about the little things—being your most physical in contact every time, thinking quickly and getting back on your feet quickly, and executing basic skills when you're under pressure.
