New era for women's rugby in South Africa set to begin: Women's Super League 1

This weekend the inaugural Pick n Pay Women’s Super League 1 season gets underway and will start a new era for women’s rugby in South Africa.

The successor to the Women’s Premier Division – which has been dominated by the Bulls Daisies for the past three years – will see the country’s top eight teams go toe-to-toe for eight weeks.

It will be a first opportunity for supporters to see the country’s top talent in action after the Springbok Women’s quarter-final exit to the Black Ferns at the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup in England.

There has been a further boost ahead of the tournament, with Pick n Pay taking the naming rights, Vodacom have been named as associate partners and national broadcaster SuperSport will show fixtures.

In 2025 the Women’s Premier Division yielded 289 tries in 29 matches as the Bulls Daisies completed their three-peat. The Daisies will kick-off their 2026 campaign with a clash against the Border Ladies.

Fresh from coaching the first-ever South Africa U18 Girls team, ex-Springbok wing Jongi Nokwe has been named as Western Province’s head coach and has included nine Springbok Women in his squad, including Sinazo Mcatshulwa who spent last season in France’s Élite 1 with Stade Villeneuvois.

Timmy Goodwin, Golden Lions head coach, has seen his squad strengthened by the arrival of ex-Saracens and Leicester Tigers lock Catha Jacobs and Springbok Women’s Sevens cap Kristen Eastes.

Springboks Women centre Eloise Webb has moved to the Boland Dames from Border Ladies, where she will be coached by Thomas Chowles and assistant coach Mathrin Simmers.

SA Rugby have made an unerring commitment to the development of women’s rugby in the country. Performances at the Women’s Rugby World Cup last year established that the team could compete at the top level and, with more backing, could improve upon a top eight finish sooner rather than later.

Along with the rebrand of the elite women’s competition in the country the national team will host New Zealand’s Black Ferns in South Africa and the USA for the first time ever in 2026.

Women’s Super League 1 teams & head coaches

Border Ladies – Bongani Nogilana
EP Queens – Deon Jordaan
Free State Women – Aschin Klein
DHL Western Province – Jongi Nokwe
Golden Lions Women – Timmy Goodwin
Sanlam Boland Dames – Thomas Chowles
Isuzu Bulls Daisies – Bongiwe Nhleko
Sharks Women – Jason Hector