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Proteas determined to upset Sunshine Girls

rugby13 January 2025 13:25
By:Busisiwe Mokwena
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Spar Proteas © X (@Netball_SA)

Spar Proteas captain, Khanyisa Chawane says overturning Jamaica's domination over South Africa will take a bit of time to rectify.

The Sunshine Girls have only tasted defeat from the Proteas only three times.

South Africa have only beat the Caribbean side in one test series in 2012 under coach Elize Kotze with now assistant coach Zanele Mdodana, captaining the side.

The senior national team have won twice in the Netball World Cup, first in the 1967 edition held in Perth and most recently in 2019, Liverpool where South Africa finished in the top four of the competition for the first time since 1995.

The Proteas came agonisingly close to recording their fourth win in Cape Town, however, the third quarter saw South Africa crumble, and were not able to make a comeback in the last quarter.

The Jenny van Dyk-led side is in Kingston, Jamaica, for the Margaret Beckford Sunshine series taking place from 18 to 25 January at the National Indoor Sports Centre.

Although Chawane understands that it will take time to overturn the dominance, she reckons playing against them regularly will help South Africa’s course.

“I feel the more we get the chance to play against them, we will get enough exposure to know what to do and how to play against them. We just need to be determined and know what we are up against. Camp has been good, we just arrived in Jamaica but we will get enough rest to get going. We had enough rest between the Africa Cup and now,” says Chawane.

MAINTAIN WINNING STREAK

Both sides are on a high from recent events.

South Africa took back the Africa Netball Cup title in Namibia last month just at the back of a whitewash series win against Malawi in November while Jamaica moved up into the third spot on the world rankings, behind Australia and New Zealand after beating England in the Vitality Netball Horizon Series.

The midcourt player stresses that it’s important for the Proteas to continue the momentum from late last year when they play in the series.

"We want to maintain our winning streak that we had started in 2024 against the Malawi series. Winning this series will give up confidence going forward. The team will always give its best, we looking forward to putting out some great netball there,” she says.

Chawane will the Proteas in the Sunshine series without her vice-captain, Karla Pretorius.

The veteran goal defender is not in the Caribbean and has been replaced by Sanmarie Visser.

The North West Flames star is the only player in the 15-player squad who is yet to be capped at the senior level.

She however was part of the Fast5 squad that represented South Africa at last year’s FAST5 Netball World Series in New Zealand.

Visser was also part of the Baby Proteas that won the Netball World Youth Cup Africa Regional qualifiers, she was also named the best defender of the tournament.

They defeated the Young Queens of Malawi in the final of the tournament and qualified for the global competition set for 19 to 28 September in Gibraltar.

Chawane admits her first series without her second in command will be challenging, however, she reckons it will be a great opportunity for other leaders in the team to step up and learn from her as well.

“It’s obviously going to be hard but it’s a great opportunity for young leaders to step up and really showcase their leadership skills during this time, but also an opportunity for me to mentor them,” she explains.

The Proteas will head to the United Kingdom to compete in the Vitality Nations Cup after their tour of Jamaica.

They will face Uganda, Malawi, whom they beat in the last two months, and England who recently went down on the World rankings, from second in October to fourth in December.

The Proteas return to the quad series after missing out on last year’s edition.

The LexisNexis Cardiff Dragons player says she hopes the recent wins over the She Cranes and the Queens will give the team momentum that will lead the Proteas to the Nations Cup victory.

“We are hoping to gain the best experience in this series that will boost us and give us the momentum that we need in order for us to win the Nations Cup,” she says.

PROTEAS SQUAD

Defenders: Boitumelo Mahloko, Sanmarie Visser, Ane Retief, Nicola Smith, Jamie van Wyk

Mid-court: Kamogelo Maseko, Tarle Mathe, Khanyisa Chawane, Refiloe Nketsa, Jeante Strydom

Shooters: Nichole Breedt, Rolene Streutker, Elmerè van der Berg, Ine-Mari Venter, Owethu Ngubane

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