Proteas to lean on previous experience to conquer Nations Cup

The Spar Proteas will be looking to redeem themselves when they take part in the 2025 Vitality Nations Cup. South Africa join hosts England, Uganda, and Malawi in the four-nation tournament.

This will be their first participation in a quad series since 2023 as they missed out on the last edition of the competition which featured the She Cranes. The Nations Cup will take place across two weekends from 1 to 9 February first at the Motorpoint Arena in Nottingham and with the Copper Box Arena in London hosting the finals weekend.

South Africa will have to lean on their previous performance at the Africa Cup where they wiped the floor with all their opponents and took the title. Head coach Jenny van Dyk states they have to be cautious especially when they take on the African sides they defeated in the continental competition. South Africa will open their campaign against Uganda before facing the England Roses then end off with Malawi in the last round robin match.

“We played Uganda in the final of the Africa Cup and they will be coming in bruised after that loss. So first things first we need to focus on playing a clinical game before we can set our sights on what we are going to get done against England,” says van Dyk.

Van Dyk also stresses that although winning is important, having a team that has improved its performance is just as vital.

“The goal for the Nations Cup is to win all our matches and we will always go into any tournament with having a win in mind. But in saying that, the focus is not on the win though but the focus is also on putting up a standard that can get us to a win. We have our work cut out for us with this England side. They played Jamaica just before we did, they are going to be hard to beat after that series. But that is what we need and that is what we need to experience. We are looking to see if the standard and the goals we have set are there, then the win will come,” she adds.

Former Baby Proteas goal keeper, Syntiche Kabuya who has been roped into the squad following Nicola Smith’s injury might be in line for her first Proteas cap. Kabuya was part of the national Under-21 side that took a resounding victory at the Netball Youth World Cup Africa qualifiers last March. However former University of Pretoria mentor says only time will tell if the Stellenbosch University player will make her senior debut at the Nations Cup.

“Syntiche has not taken to the court yet. The performance on court for the next few days will indicate whether she is ready to take a position in the 12 (player squad) or she will join us on the secondary bench. Unfortunately, I cannot answer that. The amount of really tall, physically strong, agile, and explosive shooters we have in the circuit at the moment is the reason we thought of bringing in Syntiche. Our tallest defender Nicola is not available for the rest of the series. We need physically strong players with height that we need to test if they are the better option for us in the circle. We have great goal defenders, Sanmarie (Visser) has been moved to the goal keeper position, even though that is not her preferred position. She has done a great job in the circle at the back there but it will also take time to build experience in her playing out of position on this level. I must say she is such a smart player and in the right games, for the right type of players, she is such an important part of the plan for us. We do have options and need to test all of them,” she explains.

Kabuya is hopeful that the call-up is the first of many that will lead to a career she will one day be proud of.

“I was very surprised, I was not expecting it at all but it was a good surprise. I was nervous but also excited. The camp with the seniors is very nice. There is a lot of structure and a lot of focus but there is also time for yourself. You can feel that you’re at a higher level and that you are around people that have so much experience. It is a little intimidating but it is kind of exciting as well,” says Kabuya.

Despite their 3-0 loss in the Caribbean, van Dyk says the series gave the technical important lessons that will take the team forward in the future.

“The Jamaica test series was a truly fantastic experience for all our players. There were a lot of lessons learnt and one of the most important lessons was the Jamaicans' ability to step up a level every time they went back to court. Hopefully, in this series (Nations Cup), we can show that we can make the step up and we can run with the best for four full quarters,” she explains.

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