Jamaica wrapped up the Margaret Beckford Sunshine Netball Series against the Spar Proteas in Kingston on Saturday with a convincing 58-47 victory on Saturday, but South African coach Jenny van Dyk believes the future for the Spar Proteas is bright.
South Africa got off to a poor start in the match, the third in the series. The Spar Proteas did not score a goal until the sixth minute, when they were 6-1 down, and after eight minutes, were trailing 11-1.
Both shooters, goal shooter Ina-Marie Venter and goal attack Nichole Breedt, were misfiring, and Van Dyk brought goal defence Kamogelo Maseka on. She made an immediate difference, and the South Africans managed to reduce the deficit to five goals by the end of the quarter.
Jamaica dominated the second quarter, although the Spar Proteas fought back hard. Jamaica stretched their lead to 10 goals at least three times during the quarter, and by halftime, were 29-19 ahead.
The third quarter was closer, with Jamaica winning it by 14 goals to 13, (43-32) but the damage had been done. At one stage, Jamaica had a 14-goal lead. Both sides became very physical.
With Jamaica giving their full bench a run, the Spar Proteas managed to draw the final quarter 15-all, although Jamaica were as much as 16 goals ahead at one stage.
𝗕𝗔𝗧𝗧𝗟𝗘𝗥𝗦 𝗧𝗜𝗟𝗟 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗘𝗡𝗗! 🇿🇦
— Netball South Africa (@Netball_SA) January 26, 2025
Proud of the fight, proud of the team! 🙏#SPARProteas #WeAreAllIn
📸 Collin Reid pic.twitter.com/MisyYhuD81
Van Dyk said she was proud of the way the team had fought their way back into the match after trailing 11-1.
“Coming back from that is not an easy task, but it should never have happened in the first place,” she said.
“We are beginning to build something special, and I think the Spar Proteas will be a force to be reckoned with in the next couple of years. “We are looking towards the Netball World Cup in 2027, but the next big thing is the Commonwealth Games in 14 months. We are aiming for a place in the semifinals, and to do that, we must beat one of the Big Four, so it’s important that we play these teams,” said Van Dyk.
“We have learned so much about our players and their potential in this series. The amount of experience our young players have gained from playing in this very tough series has been invaluable.”
LEARNING CURVE
Spar Proteas captain Khanyisa Chawane said it had been an amazing series.
“We got off to a very good start, winning the African Championship, and we needed a challenge. The series was a learning curve for each one of us, as well as for the team. “I think we showed a lot of character and grit, and we also confirmed our love for the game of netball,” said Chawane.
The Spar Proteas move on to the United Kingdom next week for the Nations Cup against England, Uganda, and Malawi. Goal attack Nicola Smith, who was injured (wrist) in the first match in Jamaica, will be replaced by Western Cape-based Syntiche Kabuya, a former member of the Spar Baby Proteas.
The Spar Baby Proteas had an impressive clean sweep in their series against Jamaica Under-21, which is a great preparation for the Netball Youth World Cup in Gibraltar in September and gives hope for the future.
“We learnt a lot of lessons from the series, I am very pleased with the way the girls listened to instructions and followed them,” said Spar Baby Proteas Head Coach Precious Mthembu.