On top of that, the Springbok Women's Sevens team will also have local support at the Markötter Stadium on Thursday, when the first of two consecutive Challenger Series tournaments kicks off in Stellenbosch.

However, for Springbok Women's Sevens co-captain Mathrin Simmers, none of the above will take the focus off the importance of their first game at 09h22 on Thursday, when they play Czechia in their Pool B opener. They will also play Mexico at 12h38 in the second of their pool fixtures.

“We are not looking past that first game,” said Simmers.

“We can look at the overall prize and that is a very exciting prospect, but for now it will be to get going with a strong performance in our first game. That is where our focus will be.

“It will be important for us to get into our structure from the start of the first game by doing the basics right. We have prepared well for this tournament – in fact, we had three months of preparation. All of this will come into play from tomorrow onwards and we need to start right.”

The 35-year-old Simmers is the sole survivor of the squad that enjoyed core status in the 2014/15 season and the advantage of playing in the top league is straight forward, she explained.

“The core status will mean that you will play in all the tournaments and will be playing against the best teams consistently, month after month,” said Simmers.

“That is the ideal way to improve, instead of getting one tournament every now and then, which is not the best option if you want to build a squad, as we have experienced over the last couple of seasons.”

With 44 World Series matches on her resumé, Simmers is the most experienced Springbok Women’s player in the sevens game and supporters will be happy to hear her confirmation of the quality of the squad to front up in Stellenbosch.

“We will be competitive, we have some very good players in our squad and a good mix of younger talent coming through the ranks as well, so the potential is there,” she said.

“Our preparations were also very good, but all will come down to the execution of the basic principles and how we apply that. And that starts with the first game.”

Simmers believes the local support will bring out the best in them: “Look, there is going to be pressure, but there should be as the first prize is massive.

“The reality is that every other team travelled here with the idea to win this series, so that will ensure there are no easy games or opponents. You will have to respect each team you play, it’s as simple as that.

“Having support from family and friends and South Africans in the crowd will be a boost and we hope to see a lot of that over the next two weeks.”

Entrance is free for the tournament, which will also see 12 men's team fighting it out for core status, with the first match kicking off at 09h00 on Thursday. Click here for the full tournament schedule.

Selected stats:

• The Springbok Women’s Sevens participated in the Sevens Challenger Series for the first time in 2022, where they finished in ninth place, beating Chile 29-10 in the ninth-place playoff.
• Liske Lategan (24 points from four tries and two conversions) was the leading South African points’ scorer.