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The curtain falls on 2023 netball season

netball14 December 2023 12:18
By:Busisiwe Mokwena
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The netball season has come to an end and the national teams in the Spar Proteas and Puma Proteas closed the year off on a good note, even with the parting of coach Norma Plummer and Nicole Cusack.

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Netball South Africa can proclaim to have had a good year especially with the national Under-19 side bringing back a silver medal from the Commonwealth Youth Games in Trinidad and Tobago.

Although the 2024 calendar doesn’t have a Quad Series for the Spar Proteas, hopefully the game will be as alive as the explosive 2023 with incredible talent.

NETBALL WORLD CUP

The 2023 Netball World Cup was the 16th staging of the tournament and it was the first on African soil.

The vibrant supporters of the stands who cheered and sang throughout the games set the competition apart from those that had been hosted before.

All 16 participants brought their A-game to the competition that saw Australia take the title after a hugely contested final match against England.

The 2023 title is the Diamonds record-extending 12th title.

The Vitality Roses also made history by qualifying for the final after they beat the 2019 champions New Zealand.

The competition also received exceptional numbers of television views and it more than doubled the viewership from the 2019 edition that was held in Liverpool.

The competition was also named the Best Sporting Event of the Year 2023 at the Sports Business Awards, an international event that was held in London.

Although the host nation finished a disappointing sixth place in the competition, they can be proud that they hosted a successful event and brought the game closer to more people.

SuperSport’s #HereforHer campaign which saw a women only production also received a lot of attention from around the world.

PROTEAS DRAW WITH NEW ZEALAND

The match between the Proteas and the Silver Ferns in the second preliminary round of the World Cup was certainly one for the books.

The second ranked team looked to be walking away with the win until Phumza Maweni’s breathtaking intercept in the last seconds of the game.

Heading into the last three minutes the hosts were trailing 43-47, however the defensive unit made crucial intercepts which saw the team trail by one goal in the dying seconds of the game.

The last centre pass of the game was the Ferns’ as they were looking to cement a win but Maweni’s awareness saw her take an incredible intercept to set South Africa up, the ball found its way into the Proteas' attacking third and a composed Nichole Taljaard found space in the shooting circle.

She scored and earned South Africa a thrilling 48-48 draw.

EXPORTING TALENT

The World Cup provided a great platform for players to showcase what they can do on the court.

The United Kingdom’s Netball Super League has gained a bulk of the South African talent for the 2024 season.

A total of nine players will play for various teams in the league in the UK while Jeanté Strydom will head to New Zealand where she will play for Southern Steel in the ANZ Premiership.

Having this many players in a competitive league will offer national team selectors a big pool of players to choose from.

The number benefits South Africa in the long run but more so, the players who get to play their favourite sport for a living.

TELKOM NETBALL LEAGUE

Gauteng Jaguars set a new record in the local league. The Tshwane team won a record-extending sixth title as they beat three time champions, Free State Crinum in a closely contested final.

The Jaguars have played in all the finals of the competition since its inception in 2014.

The sixth title coach Rozzane Matthyse’s first one with the team as Jenny van Dyk had led the team to the other five titles.

The 2022 winners of the competition, Gauteng Golden Fireballs became the first team not to defend the title.

They managed a bronze medal in the tournament.

Meanwhile, the Limpopo Baobabs who were crowned the champions of Division Two of the competition also gained promotion to the elite tier after they defeated the KwaZulu Natal Kingdom Stars in the promotion/ relegation match.

MEN'S NETBALL

Men’s netball enjoyed a healthy dose of attention this year.

The Men’s Senior Netball National Championships saw incredible competition on the court where several young players showed great talent.

Some of the players, including Shane Labuschagne, Vukile Zulu, and William Lethoko, even made it into the national team that represented South Africa at the FAST5 Netball World Series.

Although this was the first time South Africa took part in the men’s competition, they impressed many fans with their agility and creativity in the arena but also around the world.

The senior national team closed off the year with a gold medal from the Africa Netball Cup.

The Jabulani Vilane led side cruised throughout the competition and won all their matches all the way to the final of the tournament which saw four teams in the continent compete for top honours.

NEW BROOM

Netball South Africa saw changes in the boardroom with the introduction of Modiegi Komane in the position of chief executive officer.

The former Black Business Council Built Environment CEO took over the reins from Blanche de la Guerre who had served the federation for close to two decades in different capacities.

Although she is on a one year contract with the federation Komane says she hopes to commercialise the sport.

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