'Small mistakes' cost Springbok women in World Cup opening loss: 'We can compete'

Springbok women's coach Stanley Raubenheimer was not despondent following South Africa's opening loss against France at the Women's Rugby World Cup in New Zealand on Saturday.

France sealed a 40-5 win over South Africa in the tournament's opening match at Eden Park.

Raubenheimer took positives out of the French loss and hailed his side for dominating extended periods of time.

"I cannot fault our team for effort. The big difference was the experience between the two sides, one playing year in and year out in the Six Nations, and the other on their way back after a couple of years in the wilderness," said Raubenheimer.

"France deserved the win and congratulations to them, but I am pleased with the way we played in stages. We allowed them too many soft opportunities and that was frustrating.

"We again started poorly and conceded early points. Our finishing was also not the best, with a number of opportunities going astray. The intercept try also did not help at all."

Springbok hooker Lindelwa Gwala insists that "small mistakes" held the team back and hopes that they'll gain confidence from this performance, despite the score.

"We stood up to France today and, at times, dominated them. A year ago, when we played in Vannes, we could not do that, so there is no doubt in my mind that we have improved tremendously since then," said Gwala.

"Today, at times, we were really on the front foot against one of the top packs in the game and that is a good boost for our confidence.

"That is costing us, we are making small mistakes that result in big plays for the opponents. We need to cut that out because it is holding us back from being amongst the best teams," she continued.

"We have the team, I am convinced that we can compete against any team