Spar Proteas coach, Norma Plummer has boldly selected seven Vitality Netball World Cup debutants in her squad. The Australian-born mentor announced her final 15-player squad that will represent South Africa at the global tournament set for 28 July to 6 August at the Cape Town International Convention Centre.
Plummer and her coaching team have been putting the team through its paces over the last few months starting with the camp leading up to the Quad Series in January which was followed by another training camp in Australia which only consisted of locally based players. This was followed by two more camps at the Stellenbosch Academy of Sport (SAS) including a month-long camp in March. The team has wrapped up the last camp ahead of the World Cup and the players will return to their respective domestic teams for the remainder of the Telkom Netball League. They will meet again in July for the final stretch of the World Cup preparations.
These played a big role in Plummer’s selection of the final squad.
???? The SPAR Proteas official squad for the Vitality Netball World Cup in Cape Town has been announced ????#HereForHer pic.twitter.com/aNJLvK2PY5
— SuperSport ?? (@SuperSportTV) May 19, 2023
“Firstly you get the squad and you start waddling it down. They were put through their paces, they got fitness testing, strength, and conditioning. Then when they get to training the agility, and the speed work, so then we move into the match play. You know the shot per centages, the defensive structures, you've got interceptions or deflections but it's all on the stats that start to bring up the right player. But also when you get someone like young Jeante, she ran a 19.1 on the beep test and that's the highest of any netballer in South Africa. She even beat Bongi, she is seriously top of the pack. A player like that, she wants it. She really wants to be there. Even when she came to Australia in February with the rest of the squad, she stood out. The Collingwood coach (Nicole Richardson) said so who's she who's your wing defence? There you go, she's a player that's really driven and I love her application to the court on the way she approaches it,” says Plummer.
Plummer says it’s important having young players competing at the highest level to minimise the gap when some senior players leave the sport.
“First of all, you have Elmere and Nicola, the thing was, would we have them back because they both had pretty serious injuries? But they have been back and have been working. They have been at SAS, the strength and conditioning people have been looking after them and brought their quality up. They performed very well at selections. Fifi, when I watch her play, she just glides down the court and she is young. The same with Sammy, these players are going to be world beaters for South Africa down the track.
Of course, they have got to keep up the performances for the future but a lot of those young players, we have given them a taste of what it is like and how hard you have to work. Even though some of those players didn’t make the 15, they are primed to step in because there are probably going to be retirements soon and you have to develop underneath so the gap isn’t that big once the seniors leave. You have got to keep filling that up and this is one of those cases,” she says.
Western Cape Southern Stings’ Nicholé Taljaard is one of the players that will feature in her debut World Cup. The Varsity Netball winning player says being part of the squad is a dream come true.
“I've actually been struggling to find the words to explain anything that I'm feeling right now. If I could tell you how hard we've been training the past year, every single training camp we've had and to be selected in the top 15 is amazing. To play in front of my grandpa and my dad at home is amazing. I wasn't able to have them with me at Quad Series. They actually don't know this yet but I bought them tickets for the World Cup game and thank goodness I made it. I can’t wait to just get home and give them a hug. I have so many emotions inside of me and I'm so overwhelmed with all the hard work that has been put into this and into the preparation for the World Cup, I'm excited. This pressure is a privilege, something that only fifteen of us get to feel. There's so many girls out there that want to be where we are, we've got to show them what we've got and just go play for all of the girls in South Africa,” says Taljaard.
Plummer has also selected experienced players such as Bongiwe Msomi and Phumza Maweni who might be playing in their last World Cup tournaments while Zanele Vimbela will miss out on the World Cup on home soil, after making her debut in Liverpool. Nomfundo Mngomezulu, Boitumelo Mahloko and Monique Reyneke – Meyer are the other players who will miss out after having had a run for the Proteas at the Quad Series in January.
Msomi will lead the team and will be assisted by Australian-based, goal defence, Karla Pretorius.
PROTEAS SQUAD:Bongiwe Msomi (C), Karla Pretorius (VC), Khanyisa Chawane, Izette Griesel, Owethu Ngubane, Refiloe Nketsa, Phumza Maweni, Lenize Potgieter, Lefebre Rademan, Nicola Smith, Jeante Strydom, Nichole Taljaard, Elmere van der Berg, Shadine van der Merwe, Ine-Mari Venter
?? Meet your SPAR Proteas squad for the 2023 Vitality @NetballWorldCup ??????#SPARProteas | #NWC2023@TelkomZA @My_SPAR @Vitality_SA @WorldNetball_ pic.twitter.com/N8mlCk6urK
— Netball South Africa (@Netball_SA) May 19, 2023