Bulls Daisies' Road to the Final

03/24/2025 08:01 AM

RECAP: Just two months ago, the Bulls Daisies started their Women's Premier Division title defence, with one goal in mind... the THREE-PEAT.

After securing back-to-back trophies, the Pretoria-based franchise, coached by Hayden Groepes, has been determined to secure a third consecutive title.

That objective could become a reality when they take on Western Province Women in the Final this Saturday.

The big North-South derby is a repeat of the last two Finals.

Here's how the Bulls Daisies made it to the Final.

The Pretoria side kicked off their campaign in emphatic fashion, dismantling the EP Queens 90-5 in Round One.

The back-to-back champs used their forward dominance to good effect, scoring 14 tries.

In Round Two, the Bulls Daisies made it very clear that they were not giving an inch in the defence of their title when they totally outplayed Western Province.

They recorded a 69-0 victory at Loftus Versfeld B in Pretoria, scoring 10 tries and were awarded a penalty try.

It was a totally one-sided match, with the home side proving too strong in all aspects of the contest, and at times, they seemingly scored at will as injuries and fatigue hampered WP's defensive effort.

The Bulls Daisies faced a stern test in the shape of the Boland Dames in Round Three.

However, they were again in fine form and remained unbeaten with a 50-20 win over Boland in Wellington.

They scored five tries in the opening 30 minutes before the Dames worked their way into the match, scoring 20 points.

Nonetheless, the last waltz belonged to the Daisies, though, as they stepped on the gas again and romped away with two more tries and yet another 50 points scored.

In Round Four, the side showed why they were the only team yet to taste defeat. They dismantled the Sharks Women 69-5 at Loftus Versfeld in Pretoria.

The Daisies scored 11 unanswered tries before a late charge by the Sharks pack rewarded them with a maul try near the end of the game.

Wings Patience Makone (4) and Ayanda Malinga (2) scored six of those, benefiting from countless overlaps created by the free-flowing attack of the Daisies. Malinga's counter-attacking prowess also created some nice tries for her teammates.

The Bulls Daisies blanked another opponent, this time beating the Border Ladies 67-0 in Round Five.

Ten Daisies dotted down for tries, with team captain Libbie Janse van Rensburg bagging a double.

In the penultimate round, the Bulls Daisies secured the right to host the Final with a 71-5 win over the Golden Lions.

The defending champions, the Bulls, closed out the final round of the competition with an emphatic 96-0 dismantling of Free State in Pretoria.