The SPAR Proteas got off to a winning start with a decisive 61-42 victory over the Scotland Thistles in the opening match of the SPAR Diamond Challenge at the Rembrandt Hall at the Tuks Sports Centre in Tshwane on Tuesday.
However, coach Norma Plummer said afterwards that the team had a long way to go before the Netball World Cup in Cape Town next year.
The first quarter was fairly even, with South Africa winning the quarter 14-10. At one stage the Thistles closed the gap to one goal and their defenders succeeded with a number of intercepts in the circle.
The Proteas won the second quarter 13-8 for a 27-18 lead at halftime. It was in the third quarter that they really dominated, scoring 21 goals to eight for the Thistles.
In the final quarter, Plummer brought Ine-Mari Venter and Nichole Taljaard on to replace Lenize Potgieter and Elmeré van der Berg in the shooting circle. Scotland won the quarter 16-13.
“I thought it was a patchy performance,” said Plummer.
“They were out of their comfort zone in the first quarter, where I was trying some new tactics. We discussed it during the break and they were much better in the second quarter.
“In the second half, we played a shorter game and that was much more effective than the long passes used in the first half.
“But we have a long way to go,” said Plummer.
“We certainly wouldn’t beat Australia, New Zealand or England with a performance like that.”
She said she would make some changes for the match against Zimbabwe on Wednesday.
“There are 15 players in the squad and I want to give as many as possible a chance to show me what they can do.”
Thistles coach Tamsin Greenway said she was pleased with her team’s performance.
“South Africa, as one of the world’s top five netball teams, was the team we want to challenge. I was very pleased with the number of balls we won,” she said.
Captain Claire Maxwell said it had been a very good experience for a young team.
“Many of us are not used to travelling and South Africa has far more international caps than we have. Even things like having an opening ceremony are good for the team, which has to learn to switch focus from the opening ceremony to playing an important match,” said Maxwell.
“We ticked a number of boxes in that match. Now I want us to be able to compete for longer periods of time.”
South Africa’s Phumza Maweni (goal keeper) was named player of the match.
In the second match of the day, the South African President’s XII beat Zimbabwe 55-50.
All the matches in the SPAR Diamond Challenge will be televised live on SuperSport.
Tickets for the games will be available at the venue – R20 for adults and R10 for school going children.