Toyana back to help Easterns rise again
Geoffrey Toyana said that the desire to be a head coach again spurred his decision to sign up for the role at Easterns, as he returns to the province where he tasted success as a player 20 years ago.
Toyana, after a few years as Mandla Mashimbyi’s assistant at the Northerns Titans, has signed with Easterns and hopes to get them into Division 1.
“I want to be a head coach again,” said Toyana, who last held the position in 2017 at the then Highveld Lions. “Also, with the promotion/relegation now over one season, that is an opportunity for us to get back into Division 1 soon.”
The 49-year-old left his assistant position at the Titans at the end of the 2023 season, when they were again the country’s most consistent team. The Titans said last week Richard das Neves will take over as the senior team’s assistant coach.
Easterns had a couple of tricky seasons in Division 2, finishing well short of the promotion spot, for which points had to be earned in competitions over the past two seasons.
KwaZulu-Natal Inland won promotion last season. From the 2023/24 season, promotion and relegation will again be based on performances in one season. The union has struggled with administrative drama for years. Officials there hope Toyana can restore stability on the field.
Toyana was part of the Easterns team coached by Ray Jennings, who shocked Western Province in the 2003 final, then known as the SuperSport Series.
Toyana scored a crucial 41 in the first innings and followed that with 29 in the second as the unheralded side from Benoni beat a star-studded WP team that included Graeme Smith, Herschelle Gibbs, Gary Kirsten and Ashwell Prince, by 273 runs.
After being Dave Nosworthy’s assistant, Toyana was promoted to the head coach position at the Highveld Lions in 2012/13 and won four titles — three outright — with the franchise over five seasons.
Rassie van der Dussen and Temba Bavuma were among the players who rose to national prominence under his mentorship. His success at the Lions put him in the frame for the Proteas head coach position in 2017, but that job eventually went to Ottis Gibson.