Ayanda Malinga brace sees Springbok women thrash Spain at Ellis Park

South Africa recorded a clinical win in the first of two Women's Winter Series Test matches against Spain at Ellis Park in Johannesburg on Saturday.

The Springbok Women held a 20-0 lead at the break and then scored 24 more points before conceding a try on the final buzzer for the scintillating 44-5 win.

Coach Stanley Raubenheimer was very pleased and stated that it is a sign that their hard work is starting to bear fruit.

"This was a very good performance by the squad today and I want to congratulate the players with their effort," said Raubenheimer.

"We have lost to Spain twice since I took over the coaching of the squad and this was a very sweet victory. We did play well in most phases of the game today and although we conceded a late try, really dominated the game."

Raubenheimer said their victory against Japan two weeks ago and this win over Spain, which will see their world ranking improve to 12th place, prove that the hard work of the last four months is bringing a change.

"It has to do with the confidence of winning as well – we have now beaten Japan for the first time and Spain for the first time and that builds belief in what we want to achieve," he said.

"This is a Spain team in transition, but you cannot take anything away from our squad, who delivered big time today."

For team captain Nolusindiso Booi, the win was an important one: "We had our very first sponsor announced earlier in the week with FNB coming on board as our partner and we played with their logo on our chest for the first time.

"That show of faith in us as a team from them did give us a tremendous boost and it made us aware that more and more people are starting to believe in us and our capabilities. It was just a wonderful experience to be playing