Imbokodo coach Paul Delport applauded the effort from his squad in their debut appearance at the Cape Town Sevens this weekend, saying they aimed for a top 10 finish.

The Imbokodo, as the team is known, edged Ireland and Brazil, both core teams in the World Rugby Sevens Series, into the ninth-place playoff and had some good chances against Spain but lost 19-7 in their final game on Sunday.

Delport said the lessons learned are indeed valuable to his squad, who came into the weekend as the invited team, competing against the 11 core teams on the World Series.

‘We realised that our intensity was not good enough and therefore our defence suffered and we made some poor decisions on attack,’ said Delport. 

‘But that was always par for the course as we last played at any level close to this last year at the Rugby World Cup Sevens.’

Delport said that he was pleased to have seen a gutsy effort from his squad, with several players making their sevens series debuts.

‘I can tell you, I am very proud of this group of women. They really gave everything they had, and I think the crowd appreciated that. 

‘The support was wonderful and that will mean so much for the team. We have now lived this experience so have a very good idea on where we stand as a group,’ he said. 

Delport hopes the exposure and performance by the squad will lead to more opportunities and said they will be ready when they play in the World Series qualifiers next year.

Photo: Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images