The Spar Proteas national netball team, who finished 2024 on a high as the No 1 ranked team in Africa, start the New Year with an exciting challenge when they travel to the Caribbean to take on Jamaica in the three-test Margaret Beckford Sunshine series in Kingston.
In form Jamaica recently moved into third spot, behind Australia and New Zealand, on the world rankings, after beating England in a test series.
The Spar Proteas and the Sunshine Girls have played each other 18 times, with the Spar Proteas winning three times – most notably in the Netball World Cup in Liverpool in 2019, where the South African s won by 55 goals to 52 earning them a spot in the semifinals.
“It’s my biggest challenge since taking over as coach,” said national coach Jenny van Dyk.
“It’s always tough playing in the Caribbean, but I went to the Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago in 2023, so I am used to that kind of atmosphere. The humidity may also be a problem.
“Our strategy will be to close the gap in the scoreline and then to go in hard, looking for the win.”
Van Dyk said the star goal defence, Karla Pretorius, was being rested for the tour and would be replaced by rising star San-Marie Visser.
“Karla has a young child, and we will be going to the UK after Jamaica, and that’s a long time to be away from your child,” said Van Dyk.
“I am very excited about San-Marie, and we need to start building for the future.
Assistant coach Zanele Mdodana, who was a member of the Spar Proteas team when they last played in Jamaica, is aware of the challenges involved in playing Jamaica at home.
“It’s tough to play Jamaica at home,” she said.
“They fill those arenas to capacity, they’ve got the dance, the song … Those spectators come out in full support of their team. But we made history when we went there under coach Elize Kotze and beat them.
“They’ve got a very vibrant team, dynamic, athletic. Most of their players play in Australia, so they have great international experience. But we want to be the best, so we need to play the best,” said Mdodana.
The matches in Jamaica will be played on January 18, 22 and 25 at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston.
From Jamaica, the Spar Proteas will travel to the United Kingdom to play in the Vitality Netball Nations Cup next month. The other teams taking part are England, Uganda, and Malawi.
“We have big ambitions for the Nations Cup,” said Van Dyk.
“We want to force England to take us seriously and to play their best players against us. The gap between England, New Zealand and Jamaica is very narrow and we want to show that we belong up there with them.”
The South African national under 21 team, the Spar Baby Proteas will also travel with the senior side to Jamaica to play a friendly series during the Margaret Beckford Sunshine series against the Jamaican national under 21 team. This forms part of the Spar Baby Proteas buildup preparation for the Netball World Youth Cup to be staged in Gibraltar in September.