The South African Women’s Hockey team claimed a 4-0 win over France and secured the series 2-1 in Cambrai, France, on Saturday 6 July 2024.
Having won the first match and then succumbing to a loss to the home team in the second game, the visitors needed to ensure they bagged the victory today.
South Africa had a great start to the match as Marie Louw found the back of the net in the 6th minute to propel the team into the lead from a penalty corner.
Giles Bonnet’s team were in commanding form from the get-go, and were able to apply pressure when it mattered most.
Louw doubled their lead in the 17th minute after being awarded a penalty corner and she made no mistake in making sure her team held on to the lead.
Kayla de Waal put her scoring prowess on show, netting a field goal just two minutes later, taking the visitor’s score to 3-0 with one more quarter to go.
De Waal scored her second goal of the match in the 47th minute, and with it sealed a 4-0 win to give her team the series win and a much-needed confidence boost ahead of the 2024 Paris Olympics which takes place at the end of July.
South Africa is in Group B for the Games and will take on Australia, Argentina, Great Britain, Spain and the United States.
Their first match will be against second-ranked Australia on Sunday, 28 July, and this will be no easy feat, as the Aussies have three Olympic gold medals to their name.
Photo caption: The South African Women’s hockey team claimed a 4-0 win over France to secure a 2-1 series win after having won the first match before succumbing to a loss in the second game in Cambrai, France, on Saturday, 6 July, 2024. Photo: SA Women’s Hockey on Facebook
