The SPAR Proteas will begin their final assignment of the year in Swakopmund, Namibia on Monday as they take on the best of the continent at the Africa Netball Cup. The South Africans have been drawn in Pool 1 for the December 9-14 tournament alongside the team they recently just beat 3-0 in a home series, Malawi, as well as Zambia and Kenya. Pool 2 contains world No 6 Uganda, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Eswatini and Lesotho.
Playing against African sides is by no means an easy task. Uganda have become one of the powerhouses on the continent in recent years, and head coach of the SPAR Proteas Jenny van Dyk is predicting her side are likely to meet the She Cranes in the Africa Netball Cup final next Saturday.
“We are very aware of Uganda, we respect them as a team and they’ve done brilliantly,” she said before the team’s departure. “It’s a team that you beat once and the next time they come back with a vengeance and we are very aware of that… We are making sure to do our homework.”
The last time the two nations met was at the Netball World Cup in Cape Town last year where the SPAR Proteas beat Uganda but the She Cranes then bounced back to defeat the home side later in the tournament to secure fifth place.
Captain Khanyisa Chawane believes that’s unlikely to happen again.
“I think it’s more mental than anything because of what they’ve done. You can really fall into a hole of thinking that it’s quite difficult. But it’s not a team to fear,” she said.
“It’s a team that we’ve beaten before and yes, they may have the confidence that they’ve done it before, but they don’t know the type of team that we are now and we take confidence in that, especially in how strong our team are and how we’ve grown from the World Cup until now.
“I’m looking forward to going out there and giving them something different that they don’t expect.”
SPAR Proteas vice-captain Karla Pretorious believes the Africa Netball Cup will provide her side with valuable experience of playing teams on the continent who have a completely different style to the likes of the top four teams in the world, Australia, England, New Zealand, and Jamaica.
“That African style of athleticism and the fact that they never stop, which is very unique to us African players, is something that’s always been a challenge. But we’re fully aware of it. It’s about how we do our homework and execute the game plan,” she explained.
Chawane agreed regarding adapting to the distinctive style.
“We’re not so used to the African style… so that’s why coach Jenny says we have to play African teams as often as we can to get used to the style they play.
“We have always said it’s just short balls and no structure but the more analysis we do, we realise there is a certain structure. It’s just that we’re not used to it and not exposed to it that much, so it is going to be a threat, but we’re prepared for it… We’re looking forward to it and it is going to be challenging.”
South Africa will play their first match against Kenya at 1pm on Monday followed by a clash with Malawi on Tuesday at 6pm. They’ll be up against Zambia at 2pm on Thursday before the playoffs begin on Friday, 13 December, with the final to be contested on Saturday, 14 December.
The South African men’s side will be competing alongside the SPAR Proteas in Swakopmund for the men’s competition, with the aim to defend their title as African champions. South Africa will battle it out with Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia, Lesotho, Kenya, and Eswatini. The South African men will open their campaign on Monday morning against Lesotho and later on Monday play their second game against hosts Namibia. The men’s competition will be a straight round robin format between the seven teams with only a final being played between position 1 v position 2 on the log standings.
Early next year, the SPAR Proteas will travel to Jamaica for a three-test series against the Sunshine Girls before heading straight to the UK to play in the Nations Cup against world No 2 England, Uganda and Malawi.