The only time the two have met at World Championships was Rome in 2009 when Australia won 23-2 — Australia’s second biggest win behind a 27-2 clash with Uzbekistan.
That score will be sorely tested on Saturday when Australia plays Uzbekistan in the quarterfinal qualifiers while South Africa has the unenviable opponent of Russia.
Match 23: 18:50, Group B, AUSTRALIA 14 SOUTH AFRICA 1
Quarters: 4-0, 4-1, 4-0, 2-0
Referees: Kazuhiko Makita (JPN), Alan Balfanbayev (KAZ
Extra Man: AUS: 3/5. RSA: 0/2
Pens: AUS: 1/1.
Teams:
AUSTRALIA: Lea Barta, Jayde Appel (1), Hannah Buckling, Holly Lincoln-Smith (3), Isobel Bishop (2), Bronwen Knox (1), Rowena Webster (3), Glencora McGhie, Zoe Arancini (2), Ashleigh Southern (2), Keesja Gofers (1), Nicola Zagame (1), Kelsey Wakefield. Head Coach: Greg McFadden.
SOUTH AFRICA: Anke Jacobs, Kimberley Schmidt, Kieren Paley, Christ Rawstrom, Megan Schooling, Taryn Schooling, Kimberley Kay, Lee-Anne Keet, Delaine Christian, Marcelle Keet, Lindsay Killeen, Kelsey White (1), Thembelihle Mkhize. Head Coach: Brad Rowe.
FLASH QUOTES:
Bronwen Knox (AUS):
“We are really happy to be the leader of our group. We have had some difficult and experienced teams like China, but it has been a good preliminary round for us. Now, for our next round, I feel confident, we should play well and we feel really comfortable playing here.”
Lee-Anne Keet (RSA):
“We are happy to be here and have the opportunity to play against top teams. It’s a great opportunity as a small team to play in such a great World Championship like that. We’re proud of our work.”