South Africa crowned 2022 Diamond Challenge champs

The SPAR Proteas won the SPAR Diamond Challenge in the Rembrandt Hall at the Tuks Sports Centre on Saturday when they beat a spirited Scotland 54-36 in the final.

The Proteas and the Scottish Thistles exchanged goal for goal in the first quarter, with the Proteas winning the quarter 10-8.

Five minutes into the second quarter, the Thistles drew level on 13-all and then went into the lead for the first time. They maintained the lead for much of the quarter before a flurry of goals saw the Proteas claw their way back into the lead ahead again, for a halftime score of 23-12.

Coach Norma Plummer had started the match with some of the younger players but brought more senior players on after halftime.

The Proteas maintained their lead in the third quarter, which they won 12-8, but in the final quarter they stepped up a level, outscoring the Thistles 19-12.

It was a fast-paced match, with both sides achieving a number of turnovers, which sent the spectators into ecstasy. There were also a number of handling errors on both sides, but both teams left the court believing they had benefited from the match.

We are proud of the perfomance by South Africa at the 2022 Spar Diamond Challenge. This is another step in the right direction for @Netball_SA in preparation for the Netball World Cup 2023.#SPARDiamondChallenge | #WeAreAllIn | #RoadToCapeTown | #NetballWorldCup2023 pic.twitter.com/qTqzj4ptnb

— Min. Nathi Mthethwa (@NathiMthethwaSA) November 26, 2022

“I wanted to see how the younger players reacted to pressure,” said Plummer.

“I was quite pleased with the way they responded, but I brought senior players on after the break and the team started working like a machine.

“The structures are in place and they are beginning to work. But this is not the World Cup and we still have work to do.”

She said the players would attend an intensive training camp in Stellenbosch after a short break.

“I will bring some of the players from the President’s XII into that camp to work with them,” said Plummer.

She outlined a training programme that included taking players who were not contracted to overseas clubs to play against Australian Netball League teams in Melbourne.

Thistles coach Tamsin Greenway was delighted with Scotland’s performance.

“We went out hard because we were the underdogs and had nothing to lose. They started so well, and I have said to them that they need to learn to play as they did in the first half for the whole match,” said Greenway.

“We’ve learnt so much from this tournament and we now believe we really have the ability to challenge other teams. We were too slow against Zimbabwe yesterday, but we really attacked today. Now we need to work on our fitness levels,” she said.

“We always knew we had that performance in us,” said Scotland goal defence Emily Nicholl.

“Now we know what we need to work on, and that’s the really exciting part.”

Earlier, the President’s XII beat Zimbabwe 49-43, after leading 27-20 at halftime.

SCORE BREAKDOWN

South Africa vs Scotland

Q1: South Africa 10 - 8 Scotland
Q2: South Africa 24 – 20 Scotland
Q3: South Africa 35 - 28 Scotland
Q4: South Africa 54 - 36 Scotland

Zimbabwe vs President XII

Q1: Zimbabwe 9 – 15 President XII
Q2: Zimbabwe 20 – 27 President XII
Q3: Zimbabwe 34 – 38 President XII
Q4: Zimbabwe 43 – 49 President XII

First Place: South Africa
Second Place: Scotland
Third Place: Zimbabwe

Player of the tournament: Khanyisa Chawane - South Africa
Best shooter:Ine-Mari Venter – South Africa
Best centre court player: Iona Christian - Scotland
Best defender: Phumza Maweni – South Africa
Sportsmanship award: Didintle Keebine – President XII