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Sara Francis-Bayman (née Bayman, born 23 December 1984) is an English former netball player and coach from Billinge near Wigan, England.[2] She is currently an Assistant Coach for the West Coast Fever in the Suncorp Super Netball.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Born |
Sara Bayman 23 December 1984 Wigan, England | ||
| Height | 181 cm (5 ft 11+1⁄2 in) | ||
| School | Winstanley College[1] | ||
| University | University of Bath | ||
| Netball career | |||
| Playing position(s): C, WD | |||
| Years | Club team(s) | Apps | |
| 2004, 2006–2009 | Team Bath | ||
| ?–2016 | Manchester Thunder | ||
| 2016–2017 | Central Pulse | ||
| 2017 | UWS Sirens | ||
| Years | National team(s) | Caps | |
| ?–? |
 England | 84 | |
| Coaching career | |||
| Years | Team(s) | ||
| 2018–2021 | Loughborough Lightning | ||
| 2023-present | West Coast Fever (Asst.) | ||
Medal record | |||
At a club level, Bayman started her career at Team Bath[3] and has represented Manchester Thunder and UWS Sirens in the Netball Superleague, and Central Pulse in the ANZ Premiership.[2][4][5] Francis-Bayman won the Netball Superleague four times as a player.[6][3] and was captain of Manchester Thunder.[7]
Bayman represented England in their Bronze medal winning 2010 Commonwealth Games campaign but ruptured her knee ahead of the 2011 World Cup.[3] She was part of the 2014 Commonwealth Games squad which failed to medal in Glasgow[7] but went on to be part of the Bronze Medal winning team at the 2015 World Cup.[8]
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Francis-Bayman was Head Coach at Loughborough Lightning from 2018, winning Superleague Coach of the Year in her first year.[6][9] She led the team to a semi-final finish in 2019 and a Superleague title in 2021.[10]
She was assistant coach for Scotland under former England teammate Tamsin Greenway including the Thistles’ 2022 Commonwealth Games campaign in Birmingham.[6]
Following Lightning's Grand Final win in 2021, she took a leave of absence to spend time with her wife in Australia.[11] She was subsequently appointed as an Assistant Coach to the Queensland Firebirds in 2023 before being dropped days before the season opener.[12] After time as an Assistant Talent Coach for Western Australia, she was appointed Assistant Coach at the West Coast Fever for the 2024 season.[13]
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On 24 December 2018, Sara proposed to her long term partner and ex-England Roses team mate Stacey Francis.[14] The couple met during their playing days and married in 2020.[15]
Francis-Bayman is also known for commentating the England Roses historic 2018 Commonwealth Games Gold Medal match on the BBC, alongside Caroline Barker.[16] She was host of the Netball Nation podcast from 2019 to 2020.[17]
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