Chumisa Qawe will celebrate her 25th birthday next month with a satisfied smile on her face following a successful WXV 2 campaign for the Springbok Women over the past few weeks.
The powerful inside centre was one of the mainstays of the home team’s efforts in matches against three higher-ranked opponents – Japan, Australia and Italy – which took place in Cape Town as part of the preparations for next year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup in England.
The World Cup draw will take place today in London, and the Bok Women – who are ranked 12th – are in Band Three alongside USA (ninth), Wales (10th) and Japan (11th).
But considering their impressive displays Japan – whom they beat 31-24 – Australia (ranked fifth, 33-26 defeat) and Italy (ranked eighth, 23-19 loss), they will feel positive about their chances of reaching the quarter-finals at the World Cup.
One of the stalwarts in the side has been Qawe, who was again at her best in bursting through the Italian defence at the Athlone Stadium last Saturday.
The hard-running No 12 was unfortunate to receive a yellow card in the 14th minute for a high tackle, but more than made up for it upon her return to the pitch with a number of devastating carries and tackles.
It was a memorable three matches for Qawe, who hails from Debe Nek – a small Eastern Cape town located between King William’s Town and Alice, and also has a Bok rugby-playing twin sister Chuma – after a serious knee injury had kept her sidelined for several months since last year.
“I was disappointed with getting a yellow card, because it was so early. So, I thought when I’m back on the field, I need to fix whatever I did. So, that’s why I had to run hard for my team,” the Bulls Daisies star said after the Italy match.
“Yes, I will say so – I am playing my best now. Since I got injured, I was not playing the same (level), but now I have improved more. Working hard paid off, and my game has grown.”
One of the beneficiaries of Qawe’s hard work against the Italians was wing Ayanda Malinga, who scored a superb try after a counter-attack launched by SA flyhalf Nadine Roos and fullback Eloise Webb.
Qawe delivered the scoring pass to put Malinga over in the left corner, and it showcased how the inside centre is able to vary her play.
“I think it was teamwork for that try. We thank the forwards and Chumisa, just to give it on the outside and giving me that motivation, that she knows I’m capable of finishing,” Malinga said.
“It was a team thing, so I’m grateful for my teammates. Most of the time, our forwards want to hit the ball up! So, looking up and seeing the space, knowing that we have a person who will finish for us, it was a good reading of the game to move the ball to the outside.”
The addition of attack guru Swys de Bruin to the Bok Women coaching group has also assisted Qawe to improve her skills with ball-in-hand.
De Bruin, though, believes that the SA side can improve considerably with more game-time before next year’s World Cup, as well as placing greater emphasis on their strength and conditioning programme.
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“I don’t think it’s a difficult thing. It’s just that we have to work hard during the week. If we see are struggling with defence or attack, we need to fix all those things,” Qawe said.
“So, I’m just ready for that. I am good on attack and defence, and the coaches are helping me with whatever I need to fix.
“It was so good for us, because we’ve been with the team for five to six weeks. Everything was positive and the vibe was so good, so that also helped us to grow as a team – we can see how we are playing and growing.
“We just need to trust the process, and also trust our coaches. We also need to fix our fitness.”
Following tonight’s World Cup draw, the match schedule will be announced by World Rugby next Tuesday, October 22.
Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 Draw Bands (ranking in brackets)
Band 1: England (1), Canada (2), New Zealand (3), France (4)
Band 2: Australia (5), Ireland (6), Scotland (7), Italy (8)
Band 3: USA (9), Wales (10), Japan (11), South Africa (12)
Band 4: Spain (13), Samoa (15), Fiji (17), Brazil (42)