- Springbok Women’s 7s coach Cecil Afrika is confident his side is fully prepared for the opening leg of HSBC SVNS 2 in Nairobi.
- The first of the three stops on the HSBC SVNS 2 circuit will take place on February 14–15 at Nyayo National Stadium.
- Afrika also believes that playing in Kenya and facing the same opponents they have encountered over the past two seasons gives his team a valuable advantage.
South Africa’s Springbok Women’s 7s head coach Cecil Afrika is confident his side is fully prepared for the opening leg of HSBC SVNS 2, scheduled for February 14–15 at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi, saying Kenya is familiar territory for the team.
The women’s Boks will be competing in the three-legged HSBC SVNS 2 after earning promotion by clinching the SVNS 3 title earlier this January.
Afrika has already named his 12-player squad who will travel to Nairobi, where they will face hosts Kenya Lionesses, China, Argentina, Spain, and Brazil.
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Springbok Women’s 7s ready for HSBC SVNS 2 challenge in Nairobi
Ten players were part of the victorious squad last month in Dubai, where South Africa’s win against Argentina in the HSBC SVNS 3 secured their progress to the next qualifying phase, SVNS 2.
Windvogel comes in for the injured Vianca Boer, while Lerato Makua replaces Zintle Mpupha her Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 and Isuzu Bulls Daisies teammate who is on provincial duty.
Speaking after announcing his squad, the former Springboks legend said he is pleased with the group and believes they have trained well and are ready for the campaign.
“I am happy with the squad,” said Afrika.
“The players worked really hard over the last couple of weeks to get ready for this competition and I am happy for them; they are determined to do well and start the qualification process on a good note. We prepared well and we are ready for this unique challenge.”
Springbok Women’s 7s coach Cecil Afrika backs familiar ground in Kenya
Reacting to playing in Africa and in Kenya, Cecil revealed that it is an added advantage as it won’t be an unfamiliar place, having competed there often.
Although he mentioned the venue will be different, he doesn’t expect a major adjustment.
They travelled to the Kenyan capital last year and won the Rugby Africa Women’s Sevens Championship.
It does help knowing the lay of the land a bit,” said Afrika.
We will stay at the same hotel as last time and although we play in a different stadium, things like traffic and training venues will also be familiar to us.”
Afrika confident familiar rivals will come down to execution
The 36-year-old also noted that all their opponents are familiar faces, something he believes gives his team hope to perform well.
He feels they have the talent and ability to get the desired results from their matches against Brazil, Spain, Kenya, China, and Argentina:
We have played against all of them in the last two seasons and had wins and losses, so we know it will be up to our execution on the day.
We had recent wins over Kenya and Argentina and were just edged by Brazil in the Dubai International Invitational tournament.”
According to Afrika, the opening match against Spain carries extra motivation:
They beat us in Madrid in 2024 and that defeat dropped us out of the world series for this season. That stung and we wanted to play them again, so we now have this opportunity.”
After facing Spain, they will take on Brazil at noon and concluding day one with a blockbuster encounter against hosts Kenya Lionesses fresh from beating them in the Women’s 7s Cup held here in Kenya last year.
On Sunday morning, they will open with a clash against China and then wrap up this leg with a match against Argentina.
After Nairobi, the series moves to Montevideo, Uruguay, before concluding in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
The top four teams will then be promoted to the SVNS World Championship, where they will meet the top eight sides from SVNS Division 1 in the last three events of the season in Hong Kong, Valladolid, and Bordeaux.
From the 12 sides, teams that finish inside the top eight will secure Division 1 tickets for the 2027 SVNS campaign.
Springbok Women’s 7s squad for HSBC SVNS 2 – Nairobi
(Jersey number – Player)
#1 Leigh Fortuin
#2 Asisipho Plaatjies
#3 Patience Mokone
#7 Maria Tshiremba
#9 Nadine Roos (captain)
#10 Byrhandré Dolf
#12 Liske Lategan
#14 Simamkele Namba
#16 Shiniqwa Lamprecht
#23 Ayanda Malinga
#26 Lerato Makua
#28 Shannon-Lee Windvogel
HSBC SVNS 2 Nairobi: Full fixtures, schedule & kick-off times
Nyayo National Stadium, Nairobi – 14–15 February 2026
Saturday, 14 February 2026
Women’s Matches
- 09:00– China 7s vs Argentina 7s
- 09:22– Spain 7s vs South Africa 7s
- 09:44– Brazil 7s vs Kenya 7s
- 12:02 – Spain 7s vs Argentina 7s
- 12:24 – Brazil 7s vs South Africa 7s
- 12:46 – China 7s vs Kenya 7s
- 15:04 – Brazil 7s vs Argentina 7s
- 15:26– China 7s vs Spain 7s
- 15:48 – Kenya 7s vs South Africa 7s
Men’s Matches
- 10:06– USA 7s vs Belgium 7s
- 10:28– Uruguay 7s vs Germany 7s
- 10:50 – Kenya 7s vs Canada 7s
- 13:08 – Uruguay 7s vs USA 7s
- 13:30– Germany 7s vs Canada 7s
- 13:52 – Kenya 7s vs Belgium 7s
- 16:10 – USA 7s vs Canada 7s
- 16:32– Uruguay 7s vs Belgium 7s
- 16:54 – Kenya 7s vs Germany 7s
Sunday, 15 February 2026
Women’s Matches
- 11:00 – China 7s vs South Africa 7s
- 11:22– Brazil 7s vs Spain 7s
- 11:44 – Kenya 7s vs Argentina 7s
- 15:12 – South Africa 7s vs Argentina 7s
- 15:34 – Brazil 7s vs China 7s
- 15:56 – Spain 7s vs Kenya 7s
Men’s Matches
- 12:06 – Canada 7s vs Belgium 7s
- 12:28 – USA 7s vs Germany 7s
- 12:50 – Kenya 7s vs Uruguay 7s
- 16:18 – Germany 7s vs Belgium 7s
- 16:40 – Uruguay 7s vs Canada 7s
- 17:02 – Kenya 7s vs USA 7s