The Bulls Daisies have named an unchanged matchday 23 that is for the final of the 2023 SA Rugby Women's Premier Division competition. The Daisies will host the DHL Western Province to Loftus Versfeld on Saturday 26 August 2023 at 15h00, in their first appearance in a women's final in 13 seasons.
Head coach, Hayden Groepes has made one minor tweak to the side, switching Zintle Nonkosana for Unathi Mali who started off the bench in the semifinal. Elsewhere, the Daisies mentor has opted to maintain consistency as his herd looks to etch their names in history and become the first side to win the competition with a 100% winning record since the introduction of a double-round season.
Assistant coach, Mandisa Williams said that the Daisies making the final is already a remarkable achievement because nothing is guaranteed in playoffs.
"Every week has been tough and we probably went into last week feeling a bit more pressure because nothing is guaranteed in the playoffs, not even if you get there with a clean record. We were nervy because 12 from 12 could have meant nothing if we did not advance,"
"This week we have reviewed and previewed what lies ahead and now we are fine-tuning our skills and preparing ourselves to be as mentally ready as we can be. Other than that, there is nothing extra special that we are doing, we are just simply fine-tuning and polishing ourselves for the final based on what we have seen throughout this season."
Williams continued: "The loss of Sizo (Sizophila Solontsi) and Zintle (Mpupha) has also been big in the sense that we have lost game breakers, dominant players with ball in hand and on the defence but we have a motivated squad that has also raised their hand and stepped up,"
"We expect a tough challenge against Province this weekend, we expect nothing less. However, we must continue to trust our processes and structures. We have dominated specific areas and that is what we are polishing, those critical aspects of the game that will help us come Saturday,"
"The season has been long but the ladies remain motivated and for us as coaches, we do not want to put them under pressure but emphasise pure enjoyment over everything. It is the last game and they need to enjoy it in order to be as clinical as we want them to be,"
"The ladies are good to go!" concluded Williams.
Bulls Daisies: 1. Asithandile Ntoyanto, 2. Micke Gunter, 3. Yonela Ngxingolo, 4. Vainah Ubisi, 5. Anathi Qolo, 6. Lerato Makua, 7. Rights Mkhari, 8. Lusanda Dumke (c), 9. Rumandi Potgieter, 10. Libbie Janse van Rensburg (vc), 11. Simamkele Namba, 12. Jacomina Cilliers, 13. Unathi Mali, 14. Ayanda Malinga, 15. Byhandre Dolf. Replacements: 16. Xolelwa Diliza, 17. Lebogang Ralebona, 18. Rachelle du Plessis, 19. Sinelitha Noxeke, 20. Kyla De Vries, 21. Unam Tose, 22. Zintle Nonkosana, 23. Maria Tshiremba