South Africa suffer double injury blow ahead of Spain fixture

South Africa will be without all-time leading points scorer Libbie Janse van Rensburg for their WXV Global Series crossover fixture in Seville next weekend.

The Springbok Women playmaker has returned home with an ankle injury sustained in her team’s 41-29 victory over Italy on Saturday.

To replace Janse van Rensburg, co-head coaches Laurian Johannes-Haupt and Franzel September have called Mary Zulu into camp.

Zulu, 23, has not won a Test cap since the Rugby Africa Women’s Cup triumph earlier this year. She did, however, captain a South Africa A team on a two-match tour of Brazil last month. In 18 Test appearances, Zulu has scored 45 points.

Wing Ayanda Malinga has also returned to South Africa with a knee injury sustained in her team’s 50-19 loss to Wales.

There is also concern over another playmaker, Byrhandré Dolf. The 23-year-old started Saturday’s fixture against Italy in Pordenone at fly-half but left the field with a head injury.

She will complete HIA protocols on Monday, after which a further assessment will be made on her availability for next weekend’s fixture.

South Africa bounced back with a win over Italy, with the victory coming at the first opportunity after their heavy defeat to Wales in Cardiff. The side relied on the strength of their forward pack and the kicking of Jakkie Cilliers to put the disappointment of their night in the Welsh capital behind them and regain some of the momentum they have built this year.

Next weekend will see the Springbok Women face *Las Leonas* for the 10th time. South Africa currently hold the advantage in the fixture, with six wins from nine meetings.

Spain enter the fixture after finishing third in the WXV Global Series Challenger in Hong Kong. They lost to Fiji in the opening week before beating Samoa comprehensively six days later.

Their clash with Brazil on the third weekend was called off due to weather conditions, with both teams awarded two points for a draw.