The Spar Proteas are out to redeem themselves at the Commonwealth Games. The senior national team is part of Team South Africa that is in Glasgow for the 2026 Games taking place from 23 July to 2 August.
South Africa are drawn in Pool A with Australia, England, Malawi, Tonga and Northern Ireland.
The Jenny van Dyk-led side will begin their campaign against continental rivals, Queens of Malawi on 25 July before facing Tonga, Northern Ireland, and they will face defending champions Australia before ending the round robin stage against England.
🇿🇦 @OfficialTeamRSA centre pass times for the 2026 Commonwealth Games are locked in!
— Netball South Africa (@Netball_SA) July 21, 2026
💪 Let's get behind Team SA as the road to Glasgow begins!#TeamSA #ForMyCountry #RoadToGlasgow #Glasgow2026 pic.twitter.com/6wyolY22dr
The Proteas finished a disappointing sixth position in the 2022 edition of the competition.
The last time South Africa came close to a podium finish was at the 1998 Games in Malaysia where they finished fourth after narrowly losing the bronze match to England.
Proteas goal attack Owethu Ngubane admits that the 2022 result wasn’t the best.
She says going to the tournament after winning the test series against England in January gives the team confidence that they will be able to better the 2022 result.
“Looking back, it really wasn’t good. Going into this Commonwealths, we are a young team and we have confidence going in. We are just going to do our best as a team. I think we are ready to take on whoever we will be playing. Playing in the Commonwealth is going to be good preparation for us going into the World cup next year. We have a set of goals that we have set for ourselves as a team and we are trying to make a success of those goals. Winning the series in January was a big confidence booster for us and going into the Commonwealth Games with that confidence is a major boost for us. This year is giving us a lot of opportunities to go out there and play good netball. It’s going well so far,” says Ngubane.
The team was in camp for over a week before travelling to Scotland.
South Africa played three training matches behind closed doors, against Uganda as part of their preparations for the Games.
The Gauteng Golden Fireballs player says the team is putting in a lot of work in preparation for the tournament.
“Nobody sees what we do behind the scenes but it’s hard work all the time. We push ourselves no matter what. I think we all have the same mentality, that we just want to do good when we get to the Commonwealths. We just want to play good netball. There is a lot of pressure on our shoulders but we are not going to put too much pressure on ourselves,” she explains.
NEWCOMERS
The Birmingham Panthers player will be playing in her debut Commonwealth Games. She says she feels honoured to represent the country on the big stage.
“I am happy. It feels special, it feels unreal. It is an honour. I am so grateful, it is a special moment for me to represent my country. I am proud of myself and I am happy about it,” she explains.
Ngubane is not the only debutant for South Africa at this year’s tournament. Tarle Mathe, Karla Victor, Rolene Streukter, Kamogelo Maseko, Jamie Golob and Sanmarie Visser will also be competing in their first Games.
🎥 From the U21 stage to the Commonwealth Games 🇿🇦
— Netball South Africa (@Netball_SA) July 23, 2026
After representing South Africa at the Netball World Youth Cup in 2025, Karla Victor is set to make her senior @OfficialTeamRSA debut at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games 💚#TeamSA #ForMyCountry #Glasgow2026 #RoadToGlasgow pic.twitter.com/3EKMRfnlHY
The team only consists of three players who featured in the last Games in Birmingham 2022, Khanyisa Chawane, Nicola Smith and Elmere van der Berg. Veteran defender Karla Pretorius makes a comeback to international netball after a year hiatus.
Midcourt player Mathe is confident that South Africa will not only better the 2022 result but the team will also finish on the podium.
“I am excited and happy to make the squad because it’s not a given that one can go to the Commonwealth Games. The Commonwealth is a big stage for athletes and representing the country means so much. I think we are going there to finish on the podium,” she says.
Coach van Dyk will also be making her debut at the Games. She was however part of the coaching team that led South Africa’s Under-19 to the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games silver medal.
Van Dyk says the years of putting the work is what has led her to her first Games.
“Going to the Commonwealth Games is such an amazing milestone, it is something I have worked long and hard for as a coach. I am so happy to be in this position. I have such a grateful heart because I know what it took. I know how many hours I spent over the years perfecting my knowledge of the game and putting in hours on court in order to get to this position. I am very proud and we want to make the country proud. We are going to do absolutely everything we can to make sure we can perform the way we should,” says van Dyk.
The former Baby Proteas coach is confident with how the team’s preparation went.
“The preparations are coming along quite well. We played three matches against Uganda and we got quite a lot out of those matches. It showed us the different combinations we have and the versatility of our team. It went well and I think the team is in a good spot. We are ready for the challenge ahead,” she says.
𝗖𝗔𝗡𝗔𝗟+ 𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗹𝗮𝘀𝗴𝗼𝘄 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟲 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗺𝗼𝗻𝘄𝗲𝗮𝗹𝘁𝗵 𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗦𝘂𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗦𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗦𝘂𝗯-𝗦𝗮𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗮𝗻 𝗔𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗮.
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) July 23, 2026
The 2026 Commonwealth Games to be held in… pic.twitter.com/7KatY8ZH1R