Being in the green and gold dress will forever be one of Shadine van der Merwe’s treasured moments in her life.
The defender represented South Africa 77 times on the court, including at the 2023 Netball World Cup held in Cape Town, the first one to be held on African soil.
Her announcement of retiring from international netball came as a surprise after having a stellar season in the United Kingdom’s Netball Super League (NSL) with her side Loughborough Lightning. The three-time NSL champions won the Gentle Netball Super Cup crown and competed in the Preliminary Final but lost to silver medallists, Pulse London.
Her decision to make herself unavailable for selection for the Spar Proteas ahead of the 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games should have been a sign that the former Adelaide Thunderbirds player would be hanging up her dress soon.
TOUGH DECISION
Shasha last donned the green and gold during the Proteas’ Australasian tour late last year where South Africa played New Zealand and Australia in two three-test series. Van der Merwe says the decision to retire from international netball was a tough decision which took a long time to make.
“It was really one of the hardest decisions for me. I think for the first time, I was choosing myself, and my well-being. I wasn't in a good space and I think I still had a lot to offer, but unfortunately during the selections in January I was not in a good space.
I had to make a decision for myself, if I wanted to enjoy the last years of netball. It was really tough for me but there is so much good talent that is coming through, which gives them an opportunity to grow and wave that flag with pride and play with honour. It has always been an honour to represent my country but it was a decision I had to make for myself,” explains van der Merwe.
The goal defence earned her first senior national cap in 2015 during South Africa’s tour to Northern Ireland for the Netball Europe Open Championships. She made her debut in a match that South Africa won against Trinidad and Tobago.
The Bennie Saayman-led side finished the competition as runners up to England. However, it wasn’t such a great start for her in the senior team, during the tour she suffered horrible food poisoning which made the team, which included the likes of Adele Niemand-Zeelie, Erin Burger and Karla Pretorius.
She played in two World Cups, two Commonwealths and two Africa Netball Cup competitions as well as the 2016 World University Netball Championship which South Africa won. Van der Merwe says she carries a lot of memories from her time representing South Africa.
“Geez, there are so many because I've been around for a while. There are games that I will treasure forever, like games at the 2019 World Cup, when we beat Jamaica and we played a semifinal against Australia and we lost by only two goals.
THE FRIENDSHIPS
Those games are very memorable for me, but also some of the other things I will most cherish are the friendships I built through netball. You go through a lot as a team, and then you always have your friends that are always there for you.
I think that's why I love the team sports and being able to wear that Protea dress with pride, it was always like an honour every time I would sing the national anthem in the dress, from the first time until the last time I sang it,” she says.
Van der Merwe’s competitiveness and hunger began in her family’s garden against her brothers. Although her netball career has blossomed over the years, sevens rugby and cricket were some of the paths she has considered. However, netball prevailed over the other sports even after suffering setbacks like the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury she sustained a couple of months after making her national team debut.
Even though Protea number 121 will no longer get to represent South Africa again, van der Merwe will still get plenty of court time with her side Lightning ,in the 2027 season.
“I actually really love coaching, since university I have done some coaching job. I've coached at the Hoërskool Waterkloof, Afrikaanse Hoër Meisieskool Pretoria, and I even got the opportunity to be assistant coach for Tuks (University of Pretoria).
That's quite a high level and being able to coach and learn from great coaches as well is invaluable. I absolutely love coaching.
It’s such a pleasure to be able to give back to players and to develop them because I know how much it takes for a player to get to the next level. That is something I would like to share or do for players,” she says.