Nadine Roos Guides South Africa’s Women’s Sevens Rugby Team to Olympic Qualification

• Nadine Roos was awarded player of the qualification tournament after scoring nine tries
• South Africa's women's sevens rugby team has qualified for the Olympics for the first time
• South Africa beat Kenya who were Africa's previous representatives at the last two events

A pursuit of an Olympic dream has been accomplished.

South Africa's women's sevens rugby team has set a new standard for their peers, earning a spot at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The team participated in a qualification tournament in Tunisia and sealed the lone qualifying spot by winning the event.

Nadine Roos was the star of the South African effort, scoring nine tries and slotting 10 conversions during the Rugby Afrique event.

She was instrumental when it mattered most, scoring a hat-trick against Zambia in the semi-final and scoring the opening try of the tournament decider.

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In the final, Kenya erased Roos's try to open up a 7-5 lead, but Maria Thshiremba crossed the line again for South Africa with the outside back stepping up to convert and seal that match, 12-7.

South Africa's women's sevens coach, Renfred Dazel was quoted by World Rugby as saying:

"I feel so happy for the players who worked so hard to achieve this. We were denied in 2016 and 2020, but this time it is official, and it’s such a great feeling."

The Paris 2024 Olympics is set to start in July next year and South Africa will be Rugby Afrique's sole representative.

Developing women's sports has come to the fore, with several entities pushing investment in players, most notably the University of Pretoria.

Success on the pitch breeds the inspiration that translates into talent, as Dazel outlined:

"There will be more opportunities now for girls to come and play rugby, so winning this weekend was immense for the women's game. The future looks bright."

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