South Africa’s Proteas powered to a 65-50 victory over England on Sunday, sealing a hard-fought 2-1 series triumph in the SPAR Challenge international netball Test series at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.
The South Africans came out firing in a fast-paced opening quarter, taking an early lead thanks to some excellent turnovers in the circle from the home side’s defenders, Sanmarie Visser – who was named player of the series – on goal defence and Juanita van Tonder at goalkeeper.
With the SA midcourt also clicking well and the shooters on target, the Proteas continued to dominate, opening their cushion to seven goals by the end of the quarter (16-9).
Proteas coach Jenny van Dyk made no changes at the start of the second quarter which the South Africans continued to dominate. Even when Tarle Mathe, at centre, had to leave the court with an injury to be replaced by Refiloe Nketsa, none of the momentum was lost.
The close-to-capacity crowd was treated to a thrilling display of netball with slick passes, spectacular intercepts, and spot-on shooting, meaning the Proteas continued to extend their lead even further, reaching the half-time break 36-21 up.
The Proteas went into the final break 52-38 up, with the visitors having just edged the quarter score by one goal (17-16).
There were plenty of tired bodies on both sides as the clock ticked down and the pace of the game dropped considerably in what turned into another evenly contested quarter. But ultimately the South Africans’ phenomenal first-half effort had won them the match, and the series 2-1.
Captain Khanyasi Chawane gave credit to her team for bouncing back after some “hard conversations” after Saturday’s loss.
“It was amazing. I think I just liked the hunger. You could see each and every person on that court wanted to win,” she said.
“We went for every ball. Even if a ball was thrown in another direction, we changed our bodies. Every loose ball we were on it. And you could tell from that effort that everyone wanted to take this… I loved the energy and from there just building from that to the win.”
For Coaches Van Dyk and Zanele Mdodana, it was mission accomplished in terms of giving their players game time during the series, building different combinations and still coming out with the win.
Speaking after Sunday’s match, Van Dyk said: “Today was a clinical performance and just a team that responded so well to the plan and to what we knew we had to get done out there today. So, very proud of the players and the team.”
