Plummer happy with Proteas progress

Norma Plummer’s return to South Africa was met with mixed feelings and the Spar Diamond Challenge was vital in the welcoming back of the Australian mentor.

The spectacular performance of the Spar Proteas in the tournament is an important step as the team builds up to the more aggressive Quad Series taking place in January.

South Africa dominated the competition and won all the matches they played against Scotland, Zimbabwe, and the President’s XII, ending up walking away with the gold medal after defeating the Thistles in the final.

The Challenge provided a chance for Plummer to monitor players who were not part of the squad during her first tenure as coach. Some big names such as Karla Pretorius, Lefébre Rademan were not available for the tournament but are likely to feature against New Zealand, Australia, and England at the beginning of 2023.

The players were further taken through their paces in a week long training camp in Stellenbosch to help Plummer examine the strength of her team further.

“The players that will play in the Quad Series will not necessarily be the players that will go to the World Cup because at this stage we have some injuries and they will come back. We need to have all the top players available for selection, although going into the Quad Series we will have a reasonably strong side the team will need to be stronger. But they are not available at this point in time and it could be months still to have them back,” says Plummer.

The birthing of the President’s XII provides the coaches and selectors with a broader pool of players that can move between the Proteas and the other team especially when injuries creep in.

The World Cup winning coach reckons that having both teams train together works on the synergy of the entire team should players need to be brought up or down as required.

“It’s a must because if they are training with you they understand what the standard is and what the processes are. If you leave them out to the side and not work with them and they then have to come in because we’ve got an injury, I mean that’s a bit unfair on the player.

It’s really in the interest of Netball South Africa and the team to actually have everybody come in. It’s a fantastic opportunity and it’s showing the future young players that might take over after the World Cup and become ready for the next World Cup in four years,” explains Plummer.

As some of the players will be returning to their clubs overseas to begin the 2023 season, Plummer saw the importance to take some of the SA-based players to keep fit by playing high intensity netball in Australia while waiting for the Telkom Netball League season that starts only later in the year.

“That is just a trip to keep the players fit. At the end of January, we lose eight players to overseas (leagues) and some of those are senior players. So we have decided to take the ones that are left, which is about six players, and some of the players from the President’s XII to give them the opportunities.

It’s about the opportunity, it’s about to keep developing the future of the squad because you may never know when you are going to get those injuries. We will go to play just friendlies against different club teams in Melbourne which I have been able to arrange. It will be really good and it will be excellent to some of the younger ones that haven’t travelled,” she says.

Roping in Plummer and her assistant, Nicole Cusack back is Netball SA’s attempt to change the team’s fortunes, especially after how the team performed at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.

She is tasked to bring the team’s performance and confidence back up so that the Proteas produce a good showing in Cape Town in July next year. Plummer is already pleased with the improvement she has seen in the players since being officially back with the team after she was named mentor to former coach Dorette Badenhorst in Birmingham.

“I was sitting in the stands at Comm Games and I just felt they had dropped in intensity so since we (and Cusack) have been here, I think that they have really peaked up well. But it’s about giving direction, it’s about giving feedback and they know what is required.

They are pretty excited and they have all come in really fresh. They are doing the work programmes, they are doing recovery and when we get on the court they are fresh and ready to go.

I have been here for four and a half weeks now, I have to go home for Christmas but I am very pleased with where they are and quite impressed with some of the younger ones, they are going to be a great talent,” she says.