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Netball Proteas Men & Women
South Africa are the netball champions of the continent yet again. The Proteas women and men successfully defended their titles at the Africa Netball Cup in Lilongwe, Malawi, over the weekend.
The women beat Uganda by 56 goals to 34 in a repeat of last year’s final, while the men defeated Zimbabwe 40-29.
The South African women, ranked fifth on the world rankings, were favourites to triumph against world number six, Uganda. But it was expected to be a close battle.
The Proteas, however, completely dominated from start to finish.
The South Africans enjoyed a 27-16 lead at half-time, and continued to call the shots in the final two quarters.
Although the She-Cranes lifted their level somewhat, they missed the presence of their star goal shooter, Mary Nuba.
The Proteas finally secured a 56-34 win and were crowned African champions for a record fifth time.
Proteas Women’s Head Coach Jenny van Dyk says, “Uganda will make you work the day on that netball court; we knew that we needed to come in very strong. We knew that this game would be won in the circle, so we had to take a very good look at how they do things, different from Mary not being here for this tournament. They did a great job, considering that fact, they made us work extremely hard, so thank you, Uganda, for a good match and well done to Team South Africa.”
Earlier, the men also successfully defended their title with a 40-29 victory over neighbours, Zimbabwe.
It was the South Africans’ third championship win.
The women’s team will now set their sights on a three-match series against the Roses of England in Johannesburg early next year.
The first test will be played on the 29th of January.
