Share

Brave Proteas fall short of Silver Ferns

Brisbane- The Proteas stepped up a gear or two in their opening match of the 2017 SANZEA Quad Series netball competition on Saturday when they came within seven goals of the New Zealand Silver Ferns, who beat them 63-56.

This is a huge advance for the Proteas who lost by 31 goals the last time they played the Silver Ferns.

In fact, had it not been for a flurry of unanswered goals by New Zealand in the third quarter, the South Africans could have been in with a chance of winning.

The Silver Ferns won the first quarter 18-16, but the Proteas won the second, 14-13, and were trailing New Zealand by just one goal (31-30) at half-time.

New Zealand came back strongly in the third quarter, which they won by eight goals and South Africa won the last quarter 14-12.

The Kiwi goalshooter Bailey Mes had an outstanding game, missing only one of her 36 shots at goal and making life difficult for the South African defenders, Phumza Maweni and Karla Mostert. 

On the South African side, Lenize Potgieter, who has been playing league netball in New Zealand, succeeded with 43 goals from 49 attempts. 

Proteas captain Bongi Msomi was elated after the match.

“We have come a long way, thanks to coach Norma Plummer,” she said.

“We have been putting what she has taught us into practice and it is proving effective.  We are very excited about our performance today.”

Asked how the Proteas felt about their match against the world champions, the Australian Diamonds, on Wednesday, Msomi said they were looking forward to it.

“It’s what we came here for,” she said.

“The only way we can improve is to test ourselves against the very best. I think we did well against the world number two team today and we want to see how much we’ve improved when we play the world champions on Wednesday.”

In the earlier match, the Diamonds beat the England Roses 54-50.

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Voting Booth
Should Siya Kolisi keep the captaincy as the Springboks build towards their World Cup title defence in 2027?
Please select an option Oops! Something went wrong, please try again later.
Results
Yes! Siya will only be 36 at the next World Cup. He can make it!
25% - 1273 votes
No! I think the smart thing to do is start again with a younger skipper ...
29% - 1472 votes
I'd keep Siya captain for now, but look to have someone else for 2027.
45% - 2251 votes
Vote
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE