Great fightback by Proteas not enough to seal victory against England

The Spar Proteas fought hard but in the end just fell short as the Vitality England Roses won the final test of the Vitality Netball Series 53-50 on Sunday to clinch the series 2-1.

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🆚🇿🇦
𝟯𝗿𝗱 𝗧𝗲𝘀𝘁

What a match, what a series! Thank you South Africa for giving it your all. 💪

Win or lose, our unity remains unbreakable. Forever one, forever strong. 💚🇿🇦

Thank you for the contest England, congratulations on the win.#SPARProteas

📸 @_morganharlow pic.twitter.com/535ygSrszV
— Netball South Africa (@Netball_SA) December 10, 2023

Proteas Head Coach Norma Plummer made only one change from the team that started the second test with Phumza Maweni starting ahead of Nicola Smith who left the court injured on Saturday.

Plummer, who sat on the bench for the last time as a coach would have loved to have signed off with a won, but the hosts had other ideas.

The Roses neutralised the Proteas fast-paced game, forcing them to commit more errors as England ended the first quarter leading 16-11.

The second quarter was no different for England as they continued to exert more pressure on South Africa.

The Proteas understood the importance of not sitting back and they had to dig deep win the quarter 14-13.

The Proteas made two changes in the third quarter with Bongiwe Msomi coming in for Khanyisa Chawane and Jeante Strydom being replaced by Boitumelo Mahloko who was playing for the first time in this series.

This championship quarter became a true reflection of the match as the two teams drew 13-13, bringing the overall score to 42-38 in favour of England.

More changes in the last quarter by South Africa saw Ine Mari Venter, who missed the previous game due to a niggling back injury, coming in for Rolene Streutker and Owethu Ngubane for Kamogelo Maseko.

Errors by the Proteas became their worst enemy as this allowed England to gain possession turnovers.

However, South Africa fought back valiantly and won the quarter 12-11. It was not enough though as England sealed the match 53-50 to win the series series 2-1.

“I have had the privilege of working with the best bunch of players in this South African team. It is unfortunate we did not win the series, but I can assure you that we have built something here and I can only hope that the team grows from here. I’d like to wish the team well and thank them for a great second stint. The time is now for Netball South Africa and netball in South Africa to grow,” said outgoing Coach Plummer.

Thank you for hosting us @EnglandNetball, it was a pleasure sharing the court with you - looking forward to our future encounters. 🤝😍🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇿🇦#SPARProteas | #NetballFamily https://t.co/HgpxnIkDv5
— Netball South Africa (@Netball_SA) December 10, 2023