The Bulls Daisies punished the EP Queens with sixteen unanswered tries as the Tshwane outfit registered a resounding bonus point victory in round 3 of the 2024 Women’s Premier Division.
The defending champions registered an unforgiving century of points, their first of the season, as scrum half Mahlatse Nkhumishe and Unathi Mali (who was playing at wing) impressed with hatricks of tries. It was Mali’s second hattrick of the season after her impressive run in round 1 in East London. Nkhumishe impressed in a more familiar role for the match conductor who played out at wing in the opening two rounds of the season.
Jakkie Cilliers was outstanding with the boot, converting fifteen of the sixteen kicks at goals and dotting down a try on her way to securing 35 points for her team and the GPG Player of the match cheque.
Head coach, Hayden Groepes said he was proud of his herd as they remained at the top of the summit after a top performance on home ground.
“I am really proud of the performance today. I was particularly proud just with the ladies’ ability to show great selflessness today and the ability to play for 80 minutes; they showed that today. They were relentless and stuck to the process,”
“It is the big games that tend to disrupt or cause chaos to systems and the way we stuck to the game plan and executed each moment with the merit it deserved was great. Going into the break with a 63-point lead could have led us down the path of complacency but the discipline and desire to do more was great from the team this afternoon, especially on our first home game of the season,”
“We said at the beginning of the season that we are not defending this title but are attacking our second one and that is what we lived out on the field today. Well done to everyone!”
A beaming Groepes was full of praise for try scoring debutant, Naima Hlatshwayo: “Naima has shown herself to be a good student of the game. She deserves the time on the field and she deserves today, well done to her.”
Hlatshwayo made her debut after spending some time in the Emerging Daisies setup and graduates into the senior squad having sunk her teeth in through the development programme running parallel to the professional women’s setup.
The Daisies now shift their attention to round four where they travel to the coast to take on the Sharks in Durban. That clash at the Hollywoodbets Kings Park is set for Saturday, 04 May with kick off scheduled for 14h00.
SCORERS
Tries: Unathi Mali x3, Mahlatse Nkhumishe x3, Asithandile Ntoyanto x2, Lusanda Dumke x2, Xolelwa Diliza x1, Rachelle du Plessis x1, Jakkie Cilliers x1, Patience Mokone x1, Sanelisiwe Charlie x1, Naima Hlatshwayo x1
Conversion: Jakkie Cilliers x15
BULLS DAISIES vs EP QUEENS STARTING XV: 1. Asithandile Ntoyanto, 2. Xolelwa Diliza, 3. Rachelle du Plessis, 4. Ziyanda Ngohlekana, 5. Busisiwe Crafford, 6. Lusanda Dumke (c), 7. Sophy Mashapa, 8. Sizophila Solontsi, 9. Mahlatse Lucky Nkhumishe, 10. Unam Tose, 11. Unathi Mali, 12. Zintle Nonkosana, 13. Jackie Cilliers, 14. Patience Mokone, 15. Byrhandre Dolf
BULLS DAISIES IMPACT SQUAD: 16. Karabo Lebotsa, 17. Doreen Mkhabela, 18. Sanelisiwe Charlie, 19. Vainah Ubisi, 20. Faith Tshauke, 21. Rumandi Potgieter, 22. Naima Hlatshwayo, 23. Chantel Dikgale
BULLS DAISIES MANAGEMENT: Hayden Groepes – Head Coach, Aschin Klein – Assistant Coach, Thando Manana – Manager, Dr. Sbu Ntuli – Team Doctor, Karabo Morokane & Lenel Allison – Physiotherapist(s), Tayla Chidrawi – Strength & Conditioning, Luyolo Tandani – Logistics Manager, Swazi Bisset – Partnerships Manager, Akusenani Khumalo – Team Manager
