South Africa’s netballers were beaten for the first time at the Vitality Nations Cup tournament when they lost a pulsating match 61-55 to hosts England in the final.
After South Africa had made a fast start in the match to lead 15-12 at the end of the first quarter, Jess Thirlby’s side fought back impressively and claimed a 61-55 triumph to send the crowd at Copper Box Arena in London into raptures.
England moved ahead for the first time in the match mid-way through the second quarter and were five points ahead into the closing minutes of the third when South Africa had their centre Refiloe Nketsa was sent off court for dangerous play.
But despite being down to six players for five minutes before a replacement could come on, the Proteas impressively rallied during this period to close down England’s lead to just three points by the end of the penultimate quarter.
During the third quarter break, Coach Jenny van Dyk urged her team to focus on ball control and the basics as the fourth quarter commenced. South Africa battled back, to level the score at 46-46. England responded by pulling ahead by six points and held on to secure the victory 61-55.
In her post-match interview, Van Dyk acknowledged that Nketsa’s sending off posed a significant challenge for the team. “I’m not even quite sure what happened there but we’ll have to go back and look at what could have gone wrong.
“But no excuses. I felt that we spent six minutes playing with only six players on the court in a final, you know we have to ask the questions what happened there,” she said.
She praised her team for standing their ground even when outnumbered in the third quarter.
Earlier in the day Uganda won the third-place playoff match, beating Malawi 50-45. South Africa had edhed Malawi 58-55 in the semi-finals.
Photo: Morgan Harlow
