AUDIO - From field to box: SA legend shapes future of women's game
EXLUSIVE: The presence of Zenay Jordaan in the Springbok Women’s management team marks a significant milestone not only for South African rugby but for the global game.
Jordaan is one of 14 female coaches selected for the Gallagher High Performance Academy, who has taken up a coaching role with a national side at the 2025 Rugby World Cup.
Currently serving as the backline coach for the Springbok Women, her appointment is a proud moment in what has already been a trailblazing career.
Hailing from the Eastern Cape, the 34-year-old made her Springbok debut in 2009 – at a time when the women’s game received far less attention than it does today.
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In 2013, she was named the Springbok Women’s Player of the Year and became the country’s most-capped female player, a record later surpassed by current captain Nolusindiso Booi.
At just 31, Jordaan called time on her career, playing her last Test for the Bok Women at Waitakere Stadium in Auckland, New Zealand, at the World Cup in 2022.
Now, just three years later, she returns to the World Cup in a new role – this time in the coaches’ box.
“To think of it, I actually didn’t want to coach. But when I got that opportunity, I started to fall in love with it,” the Bulls Daisies assistant coach told Rugby365.
“I always wanted to give back to the next generation and share my knowledge – what I’ve learned and stuff – so coaching is a way that I can give back even more. I can learn, I can give back.
“Sometimes I sit still and I’m thinking, yes, see, I’m actually honoured and blessed to be in this space.”
Reflecting on the shift from player to coach, Jordaan admits it wasn’t easy – especially coaching players she once shared the field with.
“You have to set certain boundaries. I try and follow the examples of the current coaches, see how they navigate through that space and how they are with players.
“But I think the players are making it easier for me as well, because there’s that mutual respect.
“They understand that I’m no longer a teammate to them, but I’m a coach.
“I know I’ve created bonds with players when I was a player. It’s still there, but obviously, certain boundaries need to be in place.”
Aside from Jordaan, Laurian Johannes-Haupt is also another female on the coaching ticket and another pioneering figure in South African women’s rugby.
Johannes-Haupt held a similar role during the World Cup 2022 but has since progressed into a full-time coaching role in SA Rugby’s High-Performance Department – becoming the first professional women’s coach in South Africa.
“We now call it breaking barriers – that’s what we are doing,” said Jordaan.
“To be part of that is something special.
“I think having to do that, especially with Laurian, who has been in the internship programme as well previously, and to see how she has grown until now, inspires me even more.
“It’s also great to work alongside her.”
The progress in female coaching representation is clear. This year, 32% of Rugby World Cup coaches will be women – up from just 15% in 2022.
The number of female coaches has grown from six to 23, and three teams – France, Australia, and Japan – will be led by female head coaches.
“Nice to see that they’re trying to get females to coach females, and other spaces are also opening for females now.”
Jordaan also shared a special memory from her first match as part of the Springbok Women’s coaching team.
“When we entered the stadium, I saw so many South Africans standing there waiting for the team to enter. It was just like – I had to take in that moment.
“I think, yes, is this really reality? Is this? And even in the coaching box, looking down and seeing that stadium packed for the support of women’s rugby – I don’t even know how to describe it, because that is something great.
“I think all the other countries can actually feed off of that.”
