Top 5 players of 2025: Springbok Women

There is an argument to be made that South Africa’s run to the quarter finals of the Women’s World Cup this year is the equal of anything that the men’s team has achieved. That might look ridiculous, given the four World Cup crowns that sit safely at SA Rugby HQ, but when one considers the cultural, political and financial obstacles the women’s team has had to overcome, the comparison becomes far less outlandish.

This was a campaign powered not by privilege or structural certainty but by resilience, by athletes who have had to fight twice as hard for half as much.

Their progress speaks to a deeper transformation within South African rugby, one not measured solely by trophies, but by opportunity, visibility and the courage to rewrite long-standing narratives.

What this Springbok Women’s side accomplished in 2025 was not the result of a sudden surge but the product of years spent clawing their way toward credibility in a system that has historically overlooked them.

Their World Cup run forced a passionate rugby public to take notice of a group that refuses to be defined by constraints. It showcased a team playing with identity and ambition, fusing their bruising physicality with a tactical clarity that has matured rapidly with each Test season.

And crucially, it highlighted individual players who not only elevated their own standards but lifted the collective, proving that South Africa’s women’s game is no longer a sideshow.

With that in mind, here are the five players who stood tallest for South Africa this year, whose performances shaped a watershed season and pushed the Bok Women into territory once thought unreachable.

In recognising them, we also recognise a movement, one that is accelerating faster than its doubters ever imagined and dragging the sport into a more inclusive, more vibrant future.

As we approach the end of 2025, here are South Africa’s top 5 players of the year:

Aseza Hele (No 8)
South Africa’s route-one rugby has a sat-nav, and its name is Aseza Hele. More than any other Springbok – arguably more than any other player in the world – she bulldozes over opposition tacklers and stomps all over the gainline as if it were her birthright. Her World Cup was framed by power: a hat-trick in the 66-6 dismantling of Brazil, part of ten South African tries in their first global-showpiece win since 2010. She crossed again in the historic 29-24 upset of Italy in York, the win that unlocked South Africa’s first-ever quarterfinal.

After the defeat to New Zealand, where her dynamism was instrumental in South Africa holding the Black Ferns to 10-10 in the first half, Hele summed up the journey:

“We emptied our tank… We belong here… never stop dreaming.” Few forwards extract as much front-foot ball quite like her. What marks her out beyond the collisions, though, is her consistency: whether in the third minute or the 83rd, Hele carries as if the entire mythology of Bok rugby rests on her shoulders.

Libbie Janse van Rensburg (fly-half)
So long the metronome of the team, in 2025 she became its thunder as well. As close to a complete 10 as you could hope to find, the 31-year-old can stand deep, carry into contact, boot the ball long, bring runners into play and, if required, clear a ruck and put in a monster tackle of her own.

Her control in the win over Italy was exemplary as she earned the player of the match award, smiling in the mixed zone with a golf-ball-sized lump on her forehead.

She might need to shift to inside centre in order to bring greater creativity in the midfield – one of the obvious weaknesses of the side – though this would hardly diminish her quality or influence. If anything, such a move could unlock her second act: a playmaking 12 who straightens the line, absorbs contact and still possesses the distribution to turn opportunities into points.

Byrhandré Dolf (fullback)
If Hele is the hammer, Dolf is the scalpel. Still only 22-years-old, her jet-heels provided a spark from the backfield whenever she had the opportunity to counter. One moment in particular summed up her potency when she gathered a bouncing kick against Brazil and stitched together a move that saw Hele crash over for a try.

Slippery in contact and blessed with explosive pace, Dolf turned clearance kicks into panic and gave South Africa a long-range strike threat. Throw in her goal-kicking and a tenacity in defence and South Africa have a fullback they can build a game around. Her positional play has also matured rapidly.

Where once she relied purely on instinct and natural athleticism, she now more often than not finds herself in the right place at the right time.

Nadine Roos (utility back)
Is she a wing? Is she a scrum-half? Does it matter when she has the wheels of a sevens star and the ferocity of an angry honey badger? Whatever number she wears on her back is immaterial. Roos simply has to play.

She bagged four tries at the World Cup, including a stunning solo effort at the death in the heavy loss to France. A gifted match-breaker who makes the extraordinary look routine, she might offer greater value off the bench where she can inject pace into a fracturing game and target tiring defenders.

Danelle Lochner (lock)
In a pack built on blunt force, Danelle Lochner offered something rarer: clarity, calm and the cool precision of a seasoned lineout marshal. The netball convert was often the only member of the tight five to play all 80 minutes. Perhaps it is no coincidence that the wheels fell off against New Zealand just as she started to flag.

Her blend of aerial authority, graft in the dark corners of the maul and lineout, as well as a robust leg drive after contact, means she has the potential to become South Africa’s indispensable pillar. What she brings is a sense of control. Though still growing into her role, she is the cornerstone of the pack.

Check out RugbyPass’ Top 50 Women’s Players list. Despite no Bok Women making the list when launched back in August 2025 before the World Cup, would any of the above five players make the list now?