The Delta Drone TuksWomensRugby7's will be trying to complete a hat-trick of victories on French soil next week when they are competing in Centrale Sevens and Stanislas Sevens Tournaments.

In 2017 Tuks won the Stanislas Tournament. Last year they won the Centrale Sevens. If it were not for Poland scoring a try in the dying minutes of the Stanislas Sevens-final Tuks would have defended their title.

Riaan van der Merwe (Tuks head coach) is not taking anything for granted. 

"There are quite a few new teams who will be in action. The Springbok women's team will be competing for the first time in both tournaments while the University of Johannesburg will play the Centrale Sevens Tournament."

In spite of the Boks thrashing Tuks 36-5 earlier this year at a local tournament played at the University of Pretoria, Van der Merwe is confident that his players will give a better showing should they get a second opportunity.

"Libbie Janse van Rensburg is back from New Zealand. Merely having her on the field already makes a difference. When she is on song, it is like having extra ten points on the scoreboard. What also helps is that five of the players who debuted last year in France is still playing for us.  They are certainly more confident this time around as they know what to expect."

Janse van Rensburg emphasised that they are not going to be obsessed about what might happen should they get to play the Springboks. 

"Our mindset should be that it is merely another game which we need to win. What makes it exciting to play for Tuks is because we are a university team. The players keep on changing. Every time we go to France, it is like having an X-factor as you never know which of them are going to step up their game. Last year it was Meghan Phillips."

One of the Tuks newbies is the fourth year medical student, Njabuliso Ngomane. She used to be an avid triple jumper. During the Gauteng North Championships, she was second.

Everything changed at the end of last year when she saw the Tuks players training. Her curiosity and sense for adventure got the better of her. She asked if she could join them. The rest, as they say, is history.

"The only thing I knew at the time about rugby is that you are not allowed to pass the ball forward."

The risk of possibly getting injured did not faze her. When I got the ball in hand, it is like getting an adrenaline rush. Pain is the last thing I am thinking about," Ngomane who was selected to study at the Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam for a few weeks.

"It was a great experience. We researched the errors made in medical articles. We wanted to establish which errors were made and how often and what can be done to prevent it."

Tuks is playing the Centrale Sevens from 8 to 9 May, and from 11 to 12 May they will compete at the Stanislas Tournament.