She clung to her captain, Nolusindiso Booi<\/a>, as if she\u2019d never let go. Sweat poured from her body, tears streamed down her cheeks, a lump swelled on her forehead from a heavy knock, and yet her mouth stretched across her face in a smile that seemed permanent. She\u2019d done it. South Africa<\/a> had done it. Nothing would ever be the same again.<\/p>\n Success stories in South African rugby have always meant one thing: World Cup triumphs. It\u2019s a crude metric, but it\u2019s a bulletproof one. Golden trophies, ticker-tape parades, speeches of national unity, sweeping documentaries, Hollywood blockbusters; there\u2019s no arguing with that sort of success.<\/p>\n We\u2019ve picked the world\u2019s Top 50 women\u2019s rugby players for 2025! View the list now<\/p>\n View Top 50 Now<\/a><\/p>\n We\u2019ve picked the world\u2019s Top 50 women\u2019s rugby players for 2025! View the list now<\/p>\n Where do we rank an imperfect five-point victory against the ninth best team in the world? If we\u2019re relying on nothing more than crude metrics this is a footnote on a Wikipedia page. A talking point that fades before next weekend.<\/p>\n But South Africans know that the meaning of rugby \u2013 indeed any sense of meaning beyond the four corners of the pitch \u2013 are not measured by crude metrics alone.<\/p>\n The Springboks women\u2019s first win against a top ten team on Sunday might not have earned them a golden trophy but unquestionably ranks alongside any other success achieved by their male counterparts in this sport.<\/p>\n Maybe it even tops the list. Sure the 1995 World Cup win was staggering and touched by the magic of Nelson Mandela, but it was achieved by a team who had been cutting their teeth in a highly competitive Currie Cup. These players were at the sharp end of a pyramid with a rich history of top level schoolboy rugby, immense public and political support as well as the backing of corporate sponsors. Ditto for the victories in 2007, 2019 and 2023.<\/p>\n South Africa\u2019s women have had none of this. Things have been changing, but they are a budding flower in the shade of a giant oak. There is only one professional club in the entire country. Half of the national team squad remember a time when they needed a second job. Almost all of them could walk down a high street without being recognised. Not anymore.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve changed our lives forever,\u201d van Rensburg said after the match. \u201cThis is the greatest thing we\u2019ve ever done.\u201d<\/p>\n Van Rensburg was just one player who produced the performance of her life. Aseza Hele<\/a>, arguably the best number eight on the planet, was immense. She scored the first try off the back of a monstrous scrum in the second minute and rampaged across the ground with every carry until injury forced her off on the hour mark.<\/p>\n Nadine Roos was electric, starting from fullback and switching to scrum-half in the second half, the pocket rocket dotted down South Africa\u2019s second when she ran a superb support line following van Rensburg\u2019s dummy and break. That capped off a commanding 20 minutes that their coach Swys de Bruin called \u201cperfect.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Video](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/spacer-new.png\")
Top 50 Women\u2019s Rugby Players \u2013 montage<\/p>\nTop 50 Women\u2019s Rugby Players \u2013 montage<\/p>\n