Where does South Africa's Women's Super League go from here?

Even in the bewildering afterglow of the greatest moment of her career, Libbie Janse van Rensburg had the clarity of mind to realise that things would never be the same again.

“Everything is about to change,” she told her Springboks captain, Nolusindiso Booi, seconds after the final whistle sounded in York, bringing the curtain down on South Africa’s 29-24 World Cup victory over Italy last year.

That win, South Africa’s first over a top-ten ranked team, secured their passage to the quarter finals of the tournament; uncharted territory for a group who only eight years earlier didn’t enter the tournament for fear of embarrassment.

Two weeks later they proved that they belong at the game’s top table by holding the Black Ferns of New Zealand 10-10 at half-time. And though they’d eventually lose that quarter final by 29 points, the overwhelming sense was that Janse van Rensburg was right. Things would never be the same again.

So, what’s changed between then and now? Has women’s rugby in South Africa fully capitalised on that historic moment in York? Have those with their hands on the levers of power accelerated the development of the game? Is Janse van Rensburg, the team’s best player and conductor from fly-half, now a household name?

“There’s definitely been more awareness created around women’s rugby in South Africa,” she said in the build-up to the Women’s Super League final, where she would go on to lead the Bulls Daisies to a 38–15 victory over the Boland Dames at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria, scoring six tries to two in a result that once again underlined their dominance.

“People recognise you a bit more in the streets. It’s not massive, but it’s noticeable.”

If the World Cup was a spark, then the months since have been about testing whether anything combustible lay beneath it. According to Janse van Rensburg, the answer, for now, is a cautious and hopeful yes.

“There’s also been a big shift in interest from young girls,” she added. “We’re seeing more club leagues, more junior divisions starting up, and more youngsters coming through into the Super League. That’s really exciting.”

That grassroots swell is perhaps the clearest sign that something has moved. But at the elite level, where leagues are won, broadcast deals are signed and sponsors commit, the picture is more complicated.

For all the talk of growth, the league remains structurally lopsided. The Bulls Daisies, the only professional club in the country since 2023, have utterly dominated. This season they reached the final by winning all seven of their games with an average score of 66-7. They scored 73 tries – 31 more than any other team – and conceded a measly seven. Since turning professional they have won 44 of their 45 matches and have now secured a fourth successive title, further underlining their grip on the competition.

Former Springbok captain Zenay Jordaan, Janse van Rensburg’s predecessor at fly-half and the most-capped player in the programme’s history when she retired after the 2022 World Cup, praised the side’s cohesion in the aftermath. “It’s the unity in this team,” she said. “Everyone understands their role and plays for each other – that’s what sets them apart.”

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For Janse van Rensburg, that unity is no accident but the product of a professional environment that no other side in the country can currently match.

“The fact that the Daisies are professional, you can see it just makes the team stand out,” she explains, banging a well-worn drum. “We train day in, day out. We’re working on our skills every single day. That makes a massive difference.”

It is a point that sits at the heart of the Women’s Super League’s current reality. Beyond the Bulls, the competition remains largely amateur. Most players are not contracted full-time; many balance rugby with work or study, training in the margins of their daily lives. It is a familiar story.

When England relaunched its domestic league in 2017, the early years were similarly dominated by London clubs, with Saracens and Harlequins hoarding the majority of Red Roses internationals. Only through sustained investment, central contracting and time did that talent begin to spread more evenly across Premiership Women’s Rugby. South Africa, by contrast, remains at the beginning of that journey.

There are, however, early signs of change. Springbok players are no longer quite as concentrated as they once were. Figures such as Aseza Hele (Boland Dames), Tayla Kinsey (Sharks) and Catha Jacobs (Lions) have strengthened teams beyond the Bulls, while the overall depth of the national player pool has improved significantly in recent seasons. But without professional environments to support them, that redistribution can only go so far.

“Everyone wants that,” Janse van Rensburg says. “And if we really want the league to keep growing, to start filling stadiums and getting more sponsors involved, the rest of the unions need to invest more in their women’s rugby.”

This season, the league secured a title sponsor – the supermarket chain, Pick n Pay – which was a significant milestone in a global landscape where even England’s PWR is yet to do the same at league level. The immediate impact has been modest but meaningful.

“One example is the Player of the Match award,” Janse van Rensburg says. “It’s something that was there before, but now there’s a financial incentive attached to it. It motivates the players and gives us something extra to play for.”

More broadly, the presence of a title sponsor signals intent. It suggests that women’s rugby in South Africa is beginning to present itself as a viable commercial product and something that can attract investment rather than rely solely on goodwill. And yet, as Janse van Rensburg is quick to point out, there remains a disconnect between interest and execution.

“I’ve spoken to sponsors who say they want to do more for women’s rugby,” she says. “But then nothing happens. That tells me there’s a blockage somewhere.”

That frustration extends to visibility. Despite the World Cup breakthrough, mainstream coverage remains limited, with much of the reporting still driven by a small, consistent group of media outlets.

“We haven’t suddenly had lots of new people coming in after the World Cup,” she says. “It’s mostly the same people covering us. We need more journalists to help drive the message.”

“It can be frustrating,” Janse van Rensburg laments. “We try to stay humble and grateful for the opportunities we have, but at the same time we know what’s possible and what should be happening. I don’t think I’ll ever be fully satisfied. We still need more broadcasting, more marketing. We need to give the women’s game the same attention as the men’s game. I hope I’m still playing when things properly change.”

For now, the Bulls, with Janse van Rensburg at the heart of the team, remain the benchmark. Their dominance is both a symbol of what is possible and a reminder of how far the rest must travel – a reality reinforced once again by another emphatic, title-winning performance in Pretoria.

Read the match report from Rugby 365 from the Women’s Super League final 2026.