Late penalty gives Springbok Women morale-boosting victory over Spain

In a match that came alive in the second half, it was the South Africans who had to dig deep after the Spanish women took a deserved 13-5 lead just after the break.

Spain had a golden opportunity to snatch the game right at the end when the Bok Women were penalised for a high tackle, but their flyhalf Amalia Argudo steered the crucial effort wide of the posts to send the South Africans into a wild celebration.

Louis Koen, the Springbok Women coach, will be happy with the result, but he will no doubt remind his players that they managed to make life difficult for themselves with a number of unforced errors and spilled opportunities.

Argudo landed a penalty goal in the first half to give her side a 3-0 lead, but the South Africans rallied back just before the interval to score the only try of the opening stanza which allowed them a slender 5-3 at the break, thanks to the maul try by hooker Lindelwa Gwala.

Spain suffered upfront in the opening half, with South Africa dominant in the scrums, and the visitors looked menacing whenever they chose to maul. 

To their credit though, the home side managed to defend heroically to keep the visiting side at bay. Koen's side also made matters difficult for themselves by spilling several good opportunities set up by their greater territory and possession.

The host team changed tactics in the second half by moving the ball away from the dominant SA pack, who lost Gwala for 10 minutes after the break because of a high tackle. 

Spain immediately capitalised on their numerical advantage by scoring their first try when replacement outside back Claudia Cano scored out wide to make it 8-5.

Fullback Claudia Pena then stretch the home advantage to 13-5 when she dotted down for their second try, with the Bok Women struggling to contain the hard-running Spanish backline.

However, the Bok Women somehow found a second wind in the last quarter and yet again it was their driving prowess which yielded dividends, resulting in a deserved penalty try when Spain collapsed the goal-bound rolling maul. This brought the score to 13-12 in favour of Spain.

The South Africans were however rewarded with a penalty when Spain committed a high tackle, and Cilliers stepped up land the crucial penalty goal to give her side a 15-13 lead.

But there was last-minute drama when it was the South Africans who were penalised for a high tackle, but Argadu couldn't succeed with the mid-range effort, thereby handing the Bok Women a thrilling away win.

Scorers:

Spain 13 (3) - Tries: Claudi Cano, Claudia Pena. Penalty goal: Amalia Argadu.

Springbok Women 15 (5) - Tries: Lindelwa Gwala, Penalty Try. Penalty goal: Jakkie Cilliers.

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