'Women leading women': Bulls Daisies' new era

NEWS: The Bulls Daisies are once again at the forefront of taking the women’s game in South Africa to the next level.

This season, the side will be led by an all-women coaching group after Hayden Groepes bid farewell to the franchise.

Groepes has been at the helm for the past three years, during which the team lost only one match out of 36 and secured three consecutive Women’s Premier Division titles.

The coaching duties will now fall to Zenay Jordaan and Bongiwe Nhleko.

Jordaan was recently part of the Springbok Women’s coaching team led by Swys de Bruin.

The new Bulls Daisies coaching set-up will also include Asithandile Ntoyanto.

The seasoned loosehead, with the grit of 30 Tests and three World Cups etched into her battle-hardened career, will be out to transform scrums and breakdowns.

“It’s totally flipped around from when we started,” said Thando Manana, the head honcho of women’s rugby at the Blue Bulls Company.

“It’s now women leading women.”

Despite the team winning the last three Women’s Premier Division titles, management have their work cut out.

First, they must identify and develop a captain after flanker Lusanda Dumke recently stepped away due to health concerns. Similarly, three props retired due to age and injuries, leaving a void that must be filled before the start of the new season next year.

Manana has also brought junior stars — “Emerging Isuzu Bulls Daisies,” as he calls them — into the main squad’s training, fuelling fierce competition and fresh energy.

There is strong incentive too: five will be absorbed into the main squad and given professional contracts.

“The end goal is to have a squad with a mix of youth and experience,” says Manana. “We are developing from within, both for players and coaches, which I’m excited about.”

A prominent international player has also been scouted, both to strengthen the team and to mentor younger players.

Thirty-one of the players live in one of three Daisies houses in Hatfield. They are fed at the nearby High Performance Centre and have access to a physiotherapist, medical doctor, and biokineticist. Their every need is taken care of.

Manana’s broader focus is to ensure the many moving parts that constitute the Bulls Daisies blend seamlessly come April and the start of the 2026 Women’s Premier Division.

Not only is there a championship crown to defend – there’s a legacy to build.

Manana, tough, dogged, and determined, intends to get it done – without fear or favour.

Currenlty Zintle Mphupa, Maria Tshiremba, Patience Mokone, Ayanda Malinga and Byrhandre Dolf are in Stellenbosch preparting for the Africa Women’s Sevens tournament in Kenya.