Lusanda Dumke believes the Boks showed improvement despite WXV2 defeat to Italy

South Africa went into the match as underdogs, having lost their previous fixtures against Italy by 25 and 18 points respectively.

Speaking to SABC Sport, Dumke says it is time to go back to the drawing board and reflect on their overall WXV 2 performance.

“I think the game in general was quite nice, but there’s always room for improvement. I think we have shown great improvement compared to our previous games against Italy,’’ said Dumke.

The Boks came back with a positive mindset in the second half, scoring a second try courtesy of Ayanda Malinga which helped to equal the score to 17/17 in the 52nd minute.

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Unfortunately, the yellow card awarded to key player Chuma Qawe saw the Boks starting to trail in points.

Dumke says losing an outstanding player like Qawe had a negative impact on the team.

“It was tough to witness Qawe get a yellow card, because we know what she brings to the table. But we had to stick together, give it our all - knowing that we are playing for her. And yes it had an impact on us, because we know that she is such an important player in the squad,’’ added Dumke.

South Africa have been defeated three times in a row by the Italian side.

The 23-year-old explains why is Italy such a tough opponent.

‘’What makes them such tough opponents is the experience they bring. They are more experienced than us,’’ she expressed.

Meanwhile, in other results, Australia were crowned WXV 2 champions for the first time, after their convincing 31-22 victory over Scotland.

And have qualified for the 2025 Women’s Rugby Cup joining Scotland, Italy and Wales.