Springbok Women’s Sevens captain Zintle Mpupha says they have a plan to beat Russia in their World Cup opener in San Francisco.

Mpupha is confident that her side can get a win despite not being a regular on the women’s sevens circuit.

‘Russia are one of the strong teams in the Sevens Series and have played really well,’ she said. ‘We are not starters in the series, so we do not have the benefit of regular tournament competition. But we trained hard because we want to measure ourselves against teams with core status, such as Russia.

‘We want to play against those teams and we want to try and beat them. That is a clear objective of the squad. We have worked hard for this opportunity at the World Cup and will make a determined effort to deliver a performance to justify our hard work.’

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It will be a special occasion for the experienced Zenay Jordaan, who will be playing in her third World Cup tournament for South Africa – the first female player to be part of three consecutive tournaments.

Fellow backline player Mathrin Simmers will play in her second tournament at this level, while the rest of the squad will make their World Cup debuts in San Francisco.

Springbok Women Sevens – Marithy Pienaar, Christelene Steinhobel, Buhle Sonomzi, Babalwa Latsha, Zinhle Ndawonde, Mathrin Simmers, Zenay Jordaan, Zintle Mpupha (c), Eloise Webb, Nadine Roos, Snenhlanhla Shozi, Kimico Manuel.